Flux
by ponderhouse
Summary: Finally finished with college, Emily Fields is growing tired of being the person everybody wants her to be. Unable to keep herself away from the girl after an initial misunderstanding, she finds out that Paige Mccullers knows quite a bit about how that feels. Paily AU, with a tiny smidge of Haleb.
1. Chapter 1

_Had an idea I couldn't shake so I've ended up starting another fic. Paily AU, will probably be more M in later chapters. Do let me know what you think/if it's something worth continuing :)_

* * *

**_Chapter One: The Misunderstanding_**

Silently shutting the front door as to not alert anyone to her disappearance, Emily Fields stepped out onto her parents front porch, away from the hustle and bustle of the party still in full swing inside the house. She felt slightly guilty for sneaking away, her eyes settling on the banner across the doorway as she took a seat, the sign reminding her that the party was in her honour after all. After 4 hard years of studying, coupled with a side of competitive swimming, she had graduated a day earlier from Pittsburgh, earning her Bachelors Degree in Athletic Training and Sports Medicine. Her parents, proud as ever, had thrown her the surprise party under the ruse that she would be attending a congratulatory dinner. As nice as it was to see so many familiar faces, she'd found herself edging closer and closer to the door as the night drew on, being the centre of attention eventually starting to take its toll. She smiled as she sat, happy for the moment of quiet she was afforded.

"I can't believe you just left me to face Mrs Mallard alone," Emily turned to see her friend Hanna stumbling out of the front door, closing it with a thump and handing Emily a glass of champagne as she plonked herself down beside her. "Why did your parents even invite her? She's like 100 years old,"

"They were being neighbourly," Emily said, laughing slightly as Hanna's nose crinkled up in disgust. Shaking her head, Emily pulled the other girl into a hug, hearing Hanna chuckling in surprise.

"How much have you had Em?" Hanna laughed, returning the hug fully before the two broke apart.

"Shut up," Emily said in mock annoyance. "I've missed you. I'm really glad you came back for this." Hanna had been the first to leave Rosewood after High School, hastily heading for New York at the first opportunity. It had taken Emily by surprise to see her at the party; whilst they had made an effort to stay in contact when they were apart, visits from Hanna were often few and far between. Though both girls had a somewhat detrimental history with Rosewood, and Emily couldn't blame Hanna for staying away. Regardless, Emily had been overjoyed to hear Hanna was planning on sticking around for the summer, both girls promising to work hard to rekindle the closeness they once shared.

"Wouldn't miss it," Hanna smiled genuinely. "I can't believe you're going to be like…a Doctor. It's crazy."

"I need to train for another 4 years if I want to be an actual Doctor," Emily reminded the other girl.

"Well whatever," Hanna shrugged. "To us. To making it out of this deadbeat town," she said, lifting her glass, Emily copying the action and clinking them together, watching as a frown tugged at Hanna's lips. "Even if we had to leave so much behind."

* * *

Paige sighed; she'd been driving around the city for the past hour, searching for her younger sister. She had been getting ready to head out with her roommate, finally agreeing to do something with her Friday night after the other girl had pestered her about it for the better part of a day. Her preparation had been cut short however when her Mother called, worried out of her mind after her sister Caitlin hadn't returned home after school. Having been absent for most of the last 5 years, she could be forgiven for being taken aback by how unruly the girl seemed to have become, at least that would be the case had she not suspected she knew exactly why the younger girl was acting out so much these days. Finally spotting a familiar face, she pulled up along side the teenager, rolling down her window to call out to her.

"Caitlin!" she called out, watching as the girl simply rolled her eyes and gave her the finger. She sighed once again, the fifteen year old walking away from her nothing like the ten year old she remembered leaving behind when she had left for college. "Cait, just get it the car,"

"Go fuck yourself,"

"Nice," Paige said, patience already wearing thin, slamming on the brakes before climbing out of the car and grabbing ahold of the girl's arm, forcing her to face her. "Mom's worried sick okay, will you just get in the car?"

"Mom can go…"

"Finish that sentence and I will end you," Paige said sternly, before releasing her grip on her arm. "I get that you're angry, but she has done nothing to deserve any of this, there's enough on her plate as it is without you getting yourself into any more trouble, so please, just get in the goddamn car."

Paige relaxed slightly as she saw the younger girl relenting, shaking her head and getting into the car. The drive back to her parents place was fairly silent; Paige knew better than to try to talk to the girl when she was in one of these moods, remembering how she had been more or less exactly the same at her age.

"You can't just waltz back into our lives and act like some kind of saint, Evan might be too young to remember how much trouble you caused but I'm not," Caitlin muttered under her breath, causing Paige to sigh once again.

"I'm not acting like a saint. Mom needs my help, so I'm sticking around. For her and for you, and for Evan," Paige said, pulling onto her parents driveway. "She needs your help too y'know, Dad…"

"Dad doesn't even want you here," Caitlin cut her off as she unbuckled her seatbelt, barely letting the car come to a stop before jumping out. Paige gave her Mother a small wave, the older woman standing on the porch, her clothes disheveled and eyes tired.

"I'm sure he doesn't," Paige replied with a sigh, deciding to get out of the car when she saw her brother bounding toward her.

"Paige!" the younger boy said, pulling her into a tight hug. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"I can't kiddo," she said sadly, glancing up to see her Mother doing her best to calm her sister down on the porch, probably trying to make sure she and her Father didn't come to blows when the teenager got inside. She ruffled the 11 year olds hair, watching as a frown tugged onto his face. "How about we hang out next week, just you and me? Pizza, video games, horror movies, our secret?"

"Can I stay with you and Dawn? I promise I'll be no trouble," Evan asked looking up at Paige hopefully, the older girl wondering how he'd managed to turn out so sweet.

"We'll see, go help Mom out with dinner okay?" She said, kissing the top of his head and waving her mother goodbye. Turning the ignition, she turned the car around, intent on heading out and drinking herself into oblivion.

* * *

"Thanks Mom, I've had a great time," Emily said genuinely, finding her Mother in the process of clearing up, her Father busy saying his goodbyes as he ushered people out of the door.

"We're really proud of you honey, Besides, the party was all Ellie's idea,"

"I thought it would be a nice surprise," the blonde girl said walking into the room and wrapping an arm around Emily. She and Ellie had met during Emily's freshman year at Pittsburgh, and had been together ever since. They had worked hard to stay together after Ellie graduated a year later, the older girl moving back to Philadelphia to begin her surgical residency, meaning their busy schedules were often taking their toll on the relationship.

"Very nice surprise," Emily smiled, pecking the other girl on the cheek lightly. "Especially getting Hanna here, I didn't think she'd be back until next week." To see her friend here, as well as the improbable return of her Father from his base camp in Texas, had made the occasion all the more special.

With the party finally dying down, she waved goodbye to her friends, leaving them with the promise that she'd meet them back at the apartment she shared with Spencer later that evening.

"This place has never changed," Ellie said with a small shake of the head, closing the door to Emily's old bedroom.

"It's not like I ever stay here," Emily replied glancing around the room, everything still practically as it was when she had left for college. Wrapping her arms around her girlfriends waist she placed a small kiss on her shoulder. "I just want you to myself for five minutes, I have to set off soon if I'm going to get home on time,"

"I told you, you guys could've just crashed at my place, it'd be easier than trailing all the way back to your place from Philly,"

"There's more room at my place," Emily shrugged as she pulled away, turning around and beginning to gather up her belongings.

"Have you given any more thought to what we talked about the other night?" Ellie asked, Emily trying her best to hide the small frown that tugged onto her lips as the topic was brought up once again.

"It makes sense for me to stay where I am right now," Emily began, turning to see her girlfriend shaking her head with a frown. "I want to move in with you, I really do, but I'm starting up at the swim camp next week, it makes more sense to stay where I am, at least until I finish up there. It's closer."

"So I might have to wait until fall before you'll even _consider _saying yes?" Ellie said exasperatedly, causing Emily to sigh. "I thought you said you were thinking about blowing off the summer gig and finding a placement in Philly? You know, with me? Actually seeing each other everyday instead of twice a week, getting paid to work instead of working for free, actually working toward your career instead of…"

"Fulton was a good coach to me at Rosewood, I'm not going to drop out and leave her in the lurch," Emily said, her tone becoming slightly harsher. "Maybe you think volunteering at a summer training camp is pointless, but its something I actually _want _to do."

"Okay," Ellie said, throwing her hands up in surrender, perching on the end of Emily's bed.

"I'll more than likely be moving in with you in September anyway, it's not that far away," Emily said in an attempt to settle the argument. If all went to plan, she would be starting up her Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine Training in Philadelphia in the fall.

"What if your beloved Fulton offers you a full-time position when school starts up again? If it's the money Emily, you know I can look after you..."

"I'll…consider it if it comes to that," Emily said in annoyance watching as Ellie rolled her eyes. "And I don't need you to look after me. I was actually thinking…" Emily began, sitting down next to her girlfriend, steadying herself to ask what she'd truly been contemplating for the better part of her last year of college. "Well, you'll be finishing up your residency in September…and I thought that we could maybe go travelling for a few months? I can defer my place for the year, maybe try to get my old job back at the Brew to save up over the summer, and come September we can road trip across country, fly out to Hawaii, go to Europe…anything really. See the world a little before we get tied down with full-time jobs,"

"Emy, I'll be starting up at the hospital straight away if I'm lucky, it's not like I can just cancel everything to go gallivanting around the globe," Ellie said with a scoff.

"It was just a thought," Emily said sadly with a sigh."Can you at least _consider _it?" she said looking toward Ellie, slightly mocking her girlfriends tone from before.

_"Emily,"_ Ellie said, the tone of her voice telling Emily all she needed to know. Come September, they would be finding a house in Philadelphia, Emily would start-up at Penn Medicine, Ellie would start full-time at the hospital. That was the plan, and Emily knew better than to try to change it.

"Fine. I should get going, the girls will be waiting."

"Are we in a fight?"

"No, I just don't want to be late," Emily said, standing and shoving the last few items in her bag before reaching for the door handle.

"Baby," Ellie said softly, tugging lightly on Emily's hand as she turned to leave. "I'm sorry for pushing okay? I just love you, and want you all to myself sooner rather than later is all,"

"I know," Emily said giving her a small smile, kissing the other girls cheek lightly.

"Do you want to come back to my place tonight? You'll be in the city anyway,"

"You know how Hanna gets. It'll probably be pretty late…"

"I don't mind being woken up if it's by you crawling into my bed," Ellie said with a smirk.

"I'll think about it." Emily relented, kissing the other girl softly before turning to leave.

* * *

"I highly doubt I'm going to meet the _'man of my dreams'_ as you put it in some dive bar Han," Spencer scoffed; the blonde had been tossing outfits at her for the past 30 minutes, insisting that they would not be leaving the city tonight until she had managed to set Spencer up with someone, intent on finding a killer outfit to aid her in doing so.

"You've barely dated anyone since Toby," Hanna pointed out, Spencer frowning at the mention of her high school boyfriend. "I'm just doing my duty as a friend, and making sure you don't end up a sad old spinster,"

"How considerate of you," Spencer replied sarcastically, picking up a dress and making her way to her bedroom to get changed for the fourth time that evening.

"Are you planning on meeting someone tonight?" Aria asked from her spot on the floor, taking a sip of her drink after she spoke. She had been ready the longest, patiently waiting for her friends to catch up.

"No," Hanna shrugged, Emily giving her a knowing look. "I'm not planning on sticking around after the summer, it'd be pointless,"

"It's just you're giving Spence such a hard time about Toby when…" Aria began, stopping as she saw Emily glaring at her. Bringing up Toby was one thing, but mentioning Caleb was something else entirely. She didn't know how Hanna would react if the subject was brought up. "It'd be nice to see you guys find someone, is all."

"Well, we can't all run away and marry our English teacher," Hanna said, Aria huffing as she began to protest. The only one of the four to actually stay behind in Rosewood, the girls had been taken by surprise a year ago to hear that Aria and her teacher-turned-boyfriend Ezra had eloped just before her graduation from Hollis.

"Spence, get out here, we need to get going soon before these two start with each other," Emily shouted, shaking her head in amusement as her two friends glared at each other.

"Yeah yeah, don't get me started on you," Hanna grinned, turning her attention to Emily. "You and Ellie actually make me ill, you're so perfect,"

"We are _far _from perfect, trust me." Emily said bluntly in protest.

"Uh huh. She did nothing but gush about you at the party," Hanna smirked, Aria nodding in agreement beside her. "She was all _'I'm so proud of her' _and_ 'I'm so lucky she's all mine.' _Honestly, it's sweet but totally sickening. And I hear I'll be coming back for a housewarming in the fall?"

"Housewarming?" Spencer said appearing in the doorway, having finally settled on a black dress which happened to be one of the first ones Hanna had suggested, both her and Emily now looking at their friend with baffled expressions.

"Ellie was telling me about how you guys might be shacking up sooner than you thought,"

"And you were telling me this when?" Spencer said incredulously, Emily simply rolling her eyes and talking another swig of her drink.

"We've talked about it twice, it's nowhere _near _an official plan," Emily said with a sigh, placing her glass down a little harder than she intended to. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving you in the lurch anytime soon," She added looking toward Spencer. The two had moved into a small apartment together in their senior year a little way out from Rosewood. Though not the biggest place in the world it was cosy, and they had very much made it their own.

"But you guys are thinking about it?" Aria asked, noticing that Emily's demeanour had taken a turn for the worse since the subject was brought up.

"It's an option, it would certainly be nice to see each other more often," Emily said with a shrug.

"Are you guys okay? You're not exactly jumping for joy at the prospect," Spencer added, studying her friend closely.

"Of course. I'm thinking of going back to her place tonight actually, if you guys don't mind paying a little extra for the cab on the way back?"

"As long as you don't ditch us super early to go get it on with her," Hanna said with a wink. "So, you do _want _to move in with Ellie right? I mean you're still going to do the whole house, school, marriage thing right?"

"At some point, of course. I haven't really decided what I want to do once I've finished my summer programme. I was thinking about deferring my place at Penn Medicine for a year, but Ellie thinks I should start-up straight away and try for a placement at the hospital where she works, or where she hopes to be working anyway come September."

"And what do you think?" Aria asked, sensing Emily's hesitancy.

"I don't know yet. I'm just…apprehensive I guess. Another four years of studying? I've _just_ finished college, I just want to…"

"…let loose!" Hanna piped up, raising her glass in the air, much to the amusement of her friends. "What? This is supposed to be a celebration right? Are you _finally _ready yet or shall I get another top up?"

Spencer sighed, grabbing her purse and giving herself one last once-over in the mirror. "I'm ready, let's go."

* * *

Paige cringed internally as she looked on in amusement; her roommate had managed to run into and subsequently be all over her ex, _Darrell, _who Paige loathed, and she was sure if Dawn was sober, her roommate would remember just how much she also hated him. Sighing to herself as she saw the brunette wave her off, signalling she was to be left alone, Paige turned, trying her best to decide between heading to the bar for another drink or calling it a night. The club wasn't exactly her taste; the music a strange mixture of old club classics and terrible remixes, and the clientele were becoming more and more inebriated and therefore more and more annoying as the night drew on. After bumping into a particularly rowdy group of college boys, Paige decided it was definitely time to either go home or find another bar. Pulling out her phone to text Dawn her plan, Paige was startled to feel herself crashing into someone else, looking up just in time to see the tray the other girl was carrying falling to the floor with a smash.

"Oh fuck…I am so _so_ sorry," Paige said as looked up to see a girl staring back at her with mouth agape, her eyes flitting from the drinks on the floor and back up again. "Did any of it go on you?"

"No…no just the floor…" the other girl answered, her voice straining over the blaring music, looking down to see that thankfully the liquid had missed her dress, before seemingly noticing that the majority of it seemed to be covering Paige's pants. "You aren't so lucky," she said apologetically, pointing towards the Paige's now soaked thighs.

"It'll dry," she shouted back with a shrug. She took a moment to take in the other girl, her breath catching slightly when she realised how utterly stunning she was, wearing a tight-fitting purple dress with legs to die for. Maybe with a little luck tonight wouldn't be such a bust after all, Paige smirked. "Can I get you another round? It's the least I can do, I should have watched where I was going,"

"You really don't have to…" the girl began, shaking her head in protest, Paige waving away her protests quickly and tugging lightly on her arm to lead her back towards the bar.

"Really, it's the least I can do," she said with another shrug. "I'm Paige by the way," she said, holding out her hand with a smile.

"Emily," the girl replied, shaking Paige's hand with a smile of her own.

"So what can I get you Emily?" Paige asked with a friendly smile, Emily smiling back, protesting once again before giving in and giving off the drinks order when the Paige refused to take no for an answer. She took the time while she was waiting to take a good look at the girl; long auburn hair pulled into a ponytail, a fitted green shirt beneath a vest covering what Emily noted was a toned torso, the outfit completed with a pair of tight-fitting black jeans and heavy biker boots. She felt herself blush as Paige raised an eyebrow with a small smirk as she realised she'd been caught practically checking the other girl out.

"What is taking you so long?" She heard from behind her, turning to see Hanna making her way toward them. She opened her mouth to explain the situation before Paige turned to her with drinks in hand, smiling widely as she looked at Hanna.

"Hanna Marin?" Paige said over the music, Emily looking between the two in surprise as Hanna squealed giddily.

"Paige!" Hanna said, barely giving the other girl time to set the drinks back down before engulfing her in a hug. "What are you doing here? Last I heard you were in Vancouver teaching kiddies how to ski or something,"

"Figured it was time to come home," Paige responded vaguely with a shrug, "At least for the time being."

"Paige was a friend of Caleb's," Hanna explained, Emily nodding cautiously at the mention of Caleb's name and flashing Paige a small smile. "This is my friend Emily,"

"We've met," Paige smiled, Emily dipping her head slightly as Hanna glanced over to her. Paige reached behind her to hand both Emily and Hanna a drink, turning back to pick up two more. "Clumsy old me knocked your last round of cocktails out of her hands trying to rush out the door so..."

"You're leaving? But i haven't seen you in _forever,_" Hanna began, Paige simply shrugging in apology. "I haven't seen you in over a year McCullers, I want to hear all about you dotting around the country. Besides…when it comes to dancing I think Paige could give you a run for your money Em,"

"How many of those have you had?" Paige scoffed, pointing towards the frilly looking pink drink in Hanna's hands.

_"Many," _Emily answered for the blonde, Paige laughing lightly as Hanna's face scrunched up in annoyance. "I should probably get these to Spence and Aria, they'll be wondering what's taking me so long," Emily said taking the drinks out of Paige's hands. "Thank you again, you really didn't have to. I'll see you over there Han?"

Hanna nodded, both girls waving Emily off before Hanna turned her attention back to Paige. She desperately wanted to ask Paige about Caleb's whereabouts, knowing that it might be a long shot and also that if she was to just ask her straight out Paige was likely to brush her off. "You should join us," Hanna grinned, watching as Paige dropped her gaze before lifting her head up again to protest. "Come on, we can catch up,"

"This place isn't really my scene," Paige said shaking her head, glancing down at her watch. Catching sight of Paige checking Emily out as she walked away, an idea popped into Hanna's head.

"Okay, I didn't want to say anything because for all I know you're taken now and its kind of embarrassing for her but…" Hanna began, smiling as she saw Paige's eyebrow raise in curiosity. "Well Emily? Don't tell her I told you this but you're totally her type."

"Emily's gay?" Paige said in surprise, looking over to see the girl from before flashing her a small smile as she stood by her friends.

"Yep," Hanna nodded, feeling slightly guilty that her plan to get Paige to join them by pretending Emily was available was beginning to work. "_So gay. _And I've been trying to set her up all night, so this is perfect! Because I know you aren't some creep, and like I said totally her type…and now we can catch up _and _you can get to know her!"

"I don't know Hanna," Paige said reluctantly. Emily was certainly beautiful, she couldn't deny that, but set-ups were definitely not her kind of thing. Looking up to find the blonde looking at her pleadingly, she relented and nodded her head. "Alright,"

"Yay!" Hanna squealed, pulling Paige into a hug once more. "But be subtle okay? She doesn't respond well to full on,"

"Sure, whatever," Paige smirked, reaching behind her to pick up her own drink and motioning for Hanna to lead the way.

* * *

"Uh…Pittsburgh, Allentown, Maine, New York, Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Washington, Maryland, Vancouver…and back to good old Philly," Paige finished listing off everywhere she'd found herself living in the past four years since she'd seen Hanna, having found herself sat with the blonde and her 3 friends in a more secluded part of the club.

"Emily just graduated from Pittsburgh," Hanna said motioning to her friend. "That's actually what we're out celebrating tonight."

"Oh, congratulations," Paige said throwing Emily a small smile. She had ended up wedged between Hanna and Emily, and as the drinks continued to flow she was becoming more and more thankful for her proximity to the dark-haired girl. "What did you study?"

"Athletic Training and Sports Medicine," Emily replied, taking another sip of her drink as she turned to give Paige her full attention, Spencer and Aria talking amongst themselves next to her.

"Sounds impressive," Paige smiled, shuffling a little closer to the girl so that she could continue the conversation. "I used to study there actually, only for a year though,"

"What did you…" Emily began to ask, only for Hanna to cut her off.

"Then you moved in with Caleb in Allentown right?" Hanna said, Paige giving her a slightly puzzled look before nodding. "What made you head to Maine?"

"Our lease was up, you guys got rocky…" Paige began, slowing slightly as she could swear she felt both Hanna and Emily wince as she had mentioned the break up, "So he moved to Cali and I found myself a job up in Maine. Which you already knew…"

"Paige," Emily said with the brightest smile she could muster, standing and offering the other girl her hand, seeing that Spencer and Aria were giving Hanna the same baffled look she herself had sent her way. "Why don't we go get another round in?"

"Sure," Paige said returning the smile, allowing Emily to pull her up and making her way toward the bar.

"What is going on?" Spencer asked as soon as she saw Emily and the other girl were out of earshot.

"What?" Hanna said, sipping her drink and trying her best to appear clueless.

"Why are you grilling that poor girl about her whereabouts for the past 4 years?" Spencer asked, Hanna rolling her eyes and opening her mouth to speak, Spencer not giving her the chance. "_Please, _tell me this isn't about finding Caleb?"

"It's not," Hanna said shaking her head, Spencer shooting her a look letting her know she didn't believe that for a second. "Look, honestly, I know she used to be close with him…I just want to know if he's okay."

"_Hanna," _Spencer said shaking her head at her friend. "We both know you don't want to go down that road. As far as Caleb's concerned, I think it's best you let it go."

"Not to completely change the subject but do you guys think she's getting a little too _cosy _with Em?" Aria piped up, looking over toward the bar to see Paige standing close to her friend, leaning in and softly brushing her arm at every available opportunity.

"Well…" Hanna began, the guilt evident in her tone as Spencer and Aria turned to face her. "I might have dropped into casual conversation that she was Emily's type…"

"What? Why on earth would you do that?"

"To get her over here!" Hanna said sighing. "I know it sounds bad okay…"

"Emily has a girlfriend, remember?" Aria said in disbelief. "And that's awful! Emily will feel terrible if she thinks she's managed to lead Paige on…"

"I know she's taken okay, I've been present many a time for the Ellie and Emy show," Hanna said, rolling her eyes at the thought. "And you don't need to worry about Paige okay, once she realises Emily's not interested she'll get bored and leave. Trust me, she's a love 'em and leave 'em type of girl."

"Honestly Hanna, I really don't know what to do with you sometimes," Spencer sighed, fixing a smile onto her face as she saw Emily and Paige returning with a tray of shots.

"Everything okay?" Emily asked as she sat back down, noticing the awkwardness that hung in the air as they settled back into their seats.

"We're going to need another tray," Spencer sighed, picking one up and knocking it back.

* * *

After several more trays and far too many rounds, time eventually started to take its toll, the night of heavy drinking and dancing coming to an end. The girls said a fond farewell to Paige, who had managed to charm them all after returning from the bar the first time, despite both her and Emily being oblivious to Hanna's scheming. Hanna had decided to swap numbers with Paige, making her promise they would meet up before she was due to head back to New York.

"I'm actually heading that way," Emily said turning to Paige as she began to walk off, quickly hugging her friends goodbye.

"Emily are you sure you don't want to come back with us?" Spencer said cautiously, flashing Hanna a quick look.

"I'm sure Spence," Emily rolled her eyes. "I'll see you in the morning. You don't mind if I walk with you do you Paige?"

"Of course not," Paige said with a smile, smirking slightly in bemusement as she caught Spencer throwing her an apprehensive look. Both girls gave the rest of the group a quick wave and watched as they climbed into a cab, before turning and making their way down the street. Emily stumbled slightly, realising that perhaps the drinks she had consumed were effecting her more than she initially thought. She paused for a moment when she saw Paige offer her arm, blushing slightly as she looked into the other woman's eyes and partially regretting that she had agreed to go back to Ellie's place. It was certainly creeping into the early hours of the morning and it was clear she could hardly consider herself sober. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and linked their arms together, allowing them to continue their path down the street. They walked, albeit haphazardly, in a comfortable silence, Emily thankful for Paige's warmth, for all it was the start of summer there was still a chill in the air.

"You seem to have moved around a lot?" Emily asked breaking the silence, remembering how she had heard Paige mention staying in a number of different places when she was talking back at the club.

"I tend to get itchy feet when I stick in one place too long," Paige began, "My Mom needed me to come home for a while, so here I am. For now anyway."

"You're from here originally?"

"Kind of," Paige said vaguely, effectively ending the conversation as she focused her attention on the path ahead.

Emily simply gave a nod of acknowledgement, accepting the conversation had ended, the two settling back into a comfortable silence. Emily soon found herself tripping over once again, Paige stopping slightly and adjusting their positions so that her arm was resting on the small of Emily's back, the other hand reaching over to take Emily's hand in her own, Emily thankful for the extra support. She looked up to see Paige smirking, her attention fixed on something in the distance. "What is it?"

"Fancy doing a duet?" Paige grinned, pointing up ahead, Emily managing to make out a small sign in the distance; _Karaoke night._

"I don't sing…" Emily said, shaking her head with earnest as Paige's grin grew wider.

"Night cap then? My roommate ditched me for some guy earlier, kinda worried about what I might walk in on should I get home too soon," Paige asked hopefully.

Emily opened her mouth to pass, to explain that she really shouldn't, she had somewhere to be, that she should really stop drinking as she could barely walk as it is. The grin on Paige's face was infectious however, Emily deciding that one more drink might not be the worst idea in the world. "One drink. And no singing."

* * *

The bar was basic to say the least, the two girls having settled into a booth near the rear, a steady stream of people climbing up onto the stage to sing. Emily was regretting her decision to order vodka; the measure far greater than the drinks she had been having all night, the alcohol burning slightly as she swallowed. To top it off, Paige was becoming more and more charming as the night drew on, having somehow managed to convince Emily to stay for another, making her way back from the bar and placing two drinks down in front of them.

"This is the last one, _I swear,_" Emily said slurring slightly, looking up to find Paige grinning back at her. _Damn that grin. _

"Pinky promise," Paige laughed, holding out her finger, Emily linking them together to make the pact. "Cheers anyway," she said, breaking their hold and lifting her glass. "Hanna said you're going to be a Doctor,"

"I'm going to _train _to be a Doctor," Emily corrected, clinking their glasses together. "I want to get into Physical Therapy, maybe be a physiotherapist, I might take up a residency here in Philly after the summer…"

"Or?" Paige asked expectantly as she noticed the other girl trailing off, catching Emily off-guard slightly.

"Or what?" Emily asked in confusion.

"It just seemed like there was going to be an or," Paige shrugged, picking up her beer and taking a sip. "My bad."

"No, there might be a or," Emily said with a timid smile, watching as the other girl fiddled nervously with the label of her bottle. "I'm contemplating deferring for a year, travelling maybe, I don't know, it's just a thought,"

"It's a good thought," Paige smiled, noting that Emily had become slightly shy during her confession. "I can fully recommend it,"

"Like I said, It's just a thought. Everyone's expecting me to start-up at Penn Medicine in the fall…It's kind of _'the plan'_...I don't really want to disappoint them."

"In my experience, doing what's expected of you rarely makes you happy," Paige said with a shrug, Emily swearing she could hear a slight hint of sadness in the other girls voice as she spoke. "Sometimes, I think you just have to accept you can't please everyone, and go your own way."

"I guess you're right," Emily said, offering Paige a small smile. "Hopefully I can take a leaf out of your book…ease those itchy feet someday," Emily said, cringing slightly when she heard how lame that must have sounded.

"I highly recommend it. To…wanderlust," Paige said smirking, lifting her bottle once again, Emily laughing lightly as they clinked their drinks together once more.

The bar, for all it was dim, was better lit than the club they had been in before, allowing Emily to fully appreciate how attractive Paige actually was. The shirt she was wearing was perfectly fitted, revealing in the right places whilst managing to leave a lot to the imagination, the deep green perfectly complementing Paige's deep brown eyes, the girl's hair coming loose slightly, framing her face. She was rather beautiful, Emily admitted to herself, looking up to see that Paige was staring at her, the look in the other girls eyes causing Emily's breath to catch, unable to tear her gaze away. Eventually deciding she shouldn't have been thinking they way she was as she had admired Paige, she reached for her glass, tearing her gaze away in an attempt to break the strange tension that appeared to have settled over them and taking a big gulp. She coughed as she felt the alcohol burn her throat once again, shaking her head and scrunching her eyes shut.

"I promise to get you home after this one," Paige said softly, reaching across the table to gently rest her hand atop of Emily's, taking the other girl by surprise. Emily looked around nervously, taking in her surroundings, noticing just now how secluded they were in their booth, before glancing back to Paige, watching as the other girl dipped her head with a blush when their eyes met again. Could Paige think this was some kind of impromptu date? Had Hanna mentioned her to Paige before, did Paige know she was gay somehow? By walking so closely, holding each other as they had stumbled along the way…could she have given the other girl the wrong impression?

"Paige I…"

"We're up next," Paige said with a smirk, standing abruptly, Emily shaking her head as she heard her name being called over the speakers.

"No way," Emily said firmly, trying her best to appear angry as she saw Paige grinning down at her goofily. She was unable to stop herself breaking out into a small grin of her own, _that damn grin _she thought to herself, looking up as Paige attempted to make puppy dog eyes, Emily still shaking her head vehemently.

"Come on," Paige said, still smiling down at her. "Be brave," she said softly, holding out her hand for Emily to take. The dark-haired girl looked up for a moment, before giving in and nodding, taking Paige's hand and letting herself be lead toward the stage.

* * *

As Emily woke up the next morning, she was aware of two things. Firstly, that her head was pounding, and she was fairly certain any sudden movement would cause her to vomit. Secondly, she was not in Ellie's bed, and most definitely not in her own. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, cursing herself internally for drinking so much. She turned cautiously, thankful to see she was alone in the bed. Sitting up slightly, she had to close her eyes once again, ignoring the wave of nausea that crept over her as she tried to piece together the events of the night before. After plucking up the courage to sing along with Paige, there had been…a lot of laughing. And a lot, _a lot_ more drinking, if she remembered rightly. Leaving the bar however she couldn't remember at all. Sinking her head into her hands, she groaned, what had she done? She swung her legs out of the bed, trying her best to ignore the pounding in her head, leaning forward slightly to try to ease her discomfort. _"Dear god."_

Standing slowly, she fumbled around, picking her dress from the night before up off the floor, looking down to see she was wearing someone else's shirt. She was unable to dwell on her confusion, another wave of sickness washing over her, deciding that the best plan of action right now would be to find a bathroom, and fast. She peeked out of the door quickly, seeing the coast was clear, before hastily making her way down the hallway thankful to see the bathroom door ajar. After retching a few times she managed to stand up, wincing as she caught sight of her dishevelled appearance in the mirror.

"Emily?" she heard, followed by a faint tap on the door, recognising the slightly groggy voice as Paige's.

"Shit, shit, shit…" Emily said cursing herself, realising that she had indeed ended up in Paige's bed.

Sighing and realising that no matter how much she prayed she wasn't going to simply disappear, she quickly splashed some water on her face, drying it before slowly opening the door.

"Feeling rough huh?" Paige said with a small smile, Emily noting that the other girl was looking a damn sight fresher than she felt herself.

"Very," Emily said, unable to meet Paige's eyes.

"Here," Paige said, handing Emily a bottle of water and some aspirin.

"Thanks," Emily said, finally meeting Paige's eyes as she took the bottle from her. "Paige about last night…"

"Pretty crazy huh?" Paige interrupted with a shake of her head and a small laugh. "You're pretty wild once you get going Em,"

"Uh…" was all Emily managed to say, unsure what Paige meant. _Surely she couldn't mean?_ Emily shook her head, she would remember, _surely_ she would remember hooking up with some random girl behind her girlfriends back? "Really, about last night…"

"You can take a shower if you want," Paige continued, cutting Emily off once again, motioning towards the towels hanging behind Emily.

"I…honestly I really need to get going."

"Oh, okay," Paige said, face falling slightly. "Do you need a ride? I'm happy to drive you…"

"No, really I should just go."

"Well, at least let me find you something to wear, you can't head home in that," Paige said, pointing at the crumpled up dress in Emily's hands.

"Honestly Paige, it's fine," Emily said, desperately wanting to either leave or for the ground to swallow her whole.

"I insist, besides, it gives us an excuse to hang out again," Paige said with a goofy smile, Emily's stomach sinking as she spoke.

"I can't see you again Paige," she said without thinking, the guilt pouring over her as she saw the other girls face fall. "I mean…"

"Okay. Thats…blunt, but ok," Paige said, trying her best to put on a brave face. "I'm meeting up with Hanna sometime next week, just, pass them on to her if you can? Help yourself to something out of my room, I'll go call you a cab."

"Sure," Emily said dumbly, watching as Paige turned and made her way back down the hallway. Explaining to Hanna why she had Paige's clothes probably wouldn't go well, especially saying as she couldn't actually _remember _how she had ended up here. Sighing, she turned and made her way back to the bedroom, trying her best to piece together the events of the night before.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the great response to the first chapter, glad it's got you intrigued! Rest assured Paily is definitely endgame in this fic, even if it takes a little while to get there. I've written the majority of the next chapter, which should be pretty Paily-heavy. Hopefully this one is going in the right direction, and please feel free to leave feedback/suggestions, it really helps. Enjoy! _

* * *

**_Chapter Two: The Partial Truth_**

The cab ride home had been torture, the heat coupled with the brightness of the sun doing nothing whatsoever to lessen Emily's ever-growing hangover, and to top it off the cab driver was also unfortunately feeling relentlessly chatty. By the time she'd climbed the stairs to her apartment she was ready to sleep for an eternity, wanting nothing more than to curl up into a ball and die quietly in her room. _No such luck._

"You look like shit," Spencer said bluntly as she caught sight of her roommate walking through the door.

"Thank you Spencer, I feel like shit," Emily said in annoyance, flopping facedown on the couch opposite her friend with a groan.

"What are you doing home so early?" she heard Spencer ask, the sound muffled slightly due to the angle at which Emily was lying. "I figured you'd be spending the day with Ellie,"

Emily lifted herself up so she was sitting, burying her head in her hands. "I think I'm going to puke…"

"Bathroom," was all Spencer said in response, watching in amusement as Emily stood, before quickly sitting back down again with a grimace. "How are you so hungover? I feel fine,"

Emily bit her lip in contemplation, quickly scanning their apartment. She wanted to make sure she and Spencer were alone before she spoke. "Where are Hanna and Aria?"

"Aria had to get home early so Han offered to drive her, she's going to try to visit her Mom today."

"Okay," Emily said, releasing a shaky breath as she readied herself to speak. "I'm going to tell you something but you have to promise to _one_, not judge me, and _two_, never tell another living soul."

"Alright," Spencer said raising an eyebrow with a chuckle, leaning back to give Emily her full attention.

"Okay," Emily said, shaking her head before speaking. "Last night, I might have done something pretty stupid."

"What kind of stupid Em?" Spencer asked, becoming slightly concerned.

"Really _really _stupid." Emily watched as Spencer looked at her expectantly, silently telling her to elaborate. "I…after you guys left, Paige and I went to another bar,"

"Okay…" Spencer said dubiously, looking at Emily once again, this time glancing down over her friends outfit, her brow furrowing slightly as she finally realised what her roommate was wearing, and the crumpled dress she held in her hands. "Why are you wearing a Seattle Seahawks jersey?"

"I…I borrowed it," Emily said, folding her hands over her chest defensively. She wanted to get this over and done with sooner rather than later, without Spencer asking her a million questions that she knew she might not have the answers to. "We got pretty wasted, well, even more wasted than we already were…"

"Where is this going Em?" Spencer asked impatiently, watching as her friend grew more and more antsy, the cogs beginning to turn in her mind as she thought back to Hanna's little white lie the night before.

"This morning, I woke up in Paige's apartment. In Paige's bed, to be exact." She looked up to see Spencer staring back at her in shock, Emily burying her head in her hands as the reality of the situation hit her. "I've fucked up."

"Fuck Em," Spencer said, finally breaking her silence. "You _slept _with her?"

"I don't know," Emily said, looking at her friend desperately.

"You _don't know?" _Spencer said in disbelief, raising her voice marginally and causing Emily to flinch.

"I can't remember," Emily said, finally lifting her head to meet her friends gaze, seeing Spencer was in a state of shock. "I can't even remember leaving the bar."

"Well, did you wake up naked? Spooning…I don't know. How can you not remember if you've had sex?" Spencer asked, her face twisting as another thought came into her mind. "You don't think Paige is the type to…"

"No, no way. We both drank _way _too much. When I woke up I was wearing this," Emily said, pointing toward Paige's shirt. "And I was alone. So maybe we didn't. I don't know. Shit."

"It doesn't seem like…you're not the type of person that would do that Em," Spencer said supportively, watching as her friend became more distressed.

"I'm not, at least, I don't think I am," Emily sighed, another stab of guilt running through her when she thought back to the night before. The more time they had spent together, the less Emily had thought about Ellie, and the more she became engrossed in Paige. Paige's stories, Paige's beauty, Paige's charm. "I'm a terrible person. Ellie's going to kill me, or leave me or…shit. What am I going to do?"

"You can't tell her," Spencer said resolutely, shaking her head in disapproval. Emily's head shot up to look at her in confusion. "You don't even know if anything happened between the two of you. Are you really going to risk a four-year relationship over something that might not have even happened?" Emily nodded her head in understanding. Spencer was right, it wasn't worth the risk. "It didn't occur to you to maybe just _ask_ Paige what happened when you saw her this-morning?"

"I kind of bolted out of there," Emily said sheepishly, looking at Spencer, a frown tugging onto her face as she realised how it was perfectly possible nothing had happened between her and Paige, and that by leaving so hastily she probably looked like a bit of a lunatic.

"Well, you should. Ask her I mean."

"I don't have her number," Emily said shaking her head. Taking a moment to think about it, she decided she could in theory shower and change to try to combat her ever-growing hangover, wash Paige's clothes and return to the girls apartment, under the guise of returning her belongings...

"Get Hanna to text it to you," _Or she could just do that. _

Spencer had offered up a reasonable solution, Emily's brow furrowing as she found a flaw in Spencer's thinking. "I can't do that. If I do that I'll have to explain to Hanna _why _I want Paige's number,"

"I think Hanna is a little more involved in this than you think," Spencer said, quickly shaking her head when she saw Emily looking at her in confusion and pulling out her phone, "I'll do it for you."

"Why would _you_ want Paige's number?" Emily asked, brow furrowed with worry, Spencer sighing as Emily quickly snatched the phone from her hands.

"Will you relax? She's so dead set on setting me up with someone, I'll just tell her I'm…exploring a new feeling," Spencer smirked, snatching her phone back and laughing lightly as she watched Emily's eyes widen.

* * *

After a long shower and a large breakfast, Emily had finally managed to pluck up the courage to contact Paige. After another hour of deliberating how she should word her message and not long after Spencer had lost patience and dialled the number for her, Emily found herself once again trying to build up her courage, this time to knock on Paige's front door. Checking once again that she was presentable, holding the bag with Paige's clothes inside in front of her, she lifted up her hand to give a quick knock. Frowning when there was no answer after a beat, she lifted her hand to knock once again only to stop as the door flung open, a flustered looking brunette staring at her expectantly.

"Can I help you?" The girl asked.

"I'm Emily…is Paige here?"

"_P! _Motherfucking Beyoncé is back to see you!" The shorter girl yelled, giving Emily a pointed stare before turning back around and walking down the hallway, leaving Emily standing in the doorway, jaw hanging in confusion.

"In the kitchen!" She heard Paige's voice call out, cautiously glancing down the hallway for any sight of the angry girl who had greeted her before seeking out the kitchen.

She smiled as she walked into the small kitchen at the sight before her. Covered from head to toe in flour, Paige stood, grinning giddily as she turned, stirring what appeared to be cake mixture in a large bowl which she balanced in one arm. "I apologise," Paige said setting the bowl down, motioning for Emily to take a seat at the counter before resting against it on the opposite side. "That's my roommate Dawn, she's kind of…well she's an ass," Emily gave a small nod in response, glancing around the kitchen to see it was flour covered much like Paige's upper half. They sat in an awkward silence, staring at each other, before Paige stood up straight, trying to dispel the awkward atmosphere in the room. "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Beer? What makes you bad makes you better right?"

"Coffee would be great, thank you," Emily smiled, watching as Paige flashed her a quick smile of her own, turning to pick up some cups.

"I didn't think I'd be hearing from you again," Paige said as she poured out two cups, handing one to Emily before taking a seat beside her, gripping the handle of her cup tightly as she glanced toward Emily.

"I needed to apologise, I was really rude this morning," Emily began, Paige simply shrugging her off and taking a sip of her drink. "Actually Paige I came here to ask you…" Emily began, before once again looking at Paige, unable to hold in the smile that crept onto her face as she took in the sight of the other girl. "Why are you covered in flour?"

"Cake," Paige said with a nervous chuckle, pointing to the discarded mixing bowl. "Before you showed up I was baking. Cupcakes! Hey do you want to help? Two hands are better than one right?"

"Um…don't be offended but I just took a shower…" Emily smirked, watching Paige frown in mock offence.

"Are you saying I'm a messy cook Emily?" Paige grinned, Emily shaking her head but mouthing the word yes, earning herself a laugh from Paige. "I guess you have a point," Paige said glancing around the kitchen and down at herself. Emily watched in amusement as Paige tried to subtly wipe the flour from her face, catching her checking her reflection in the microwave.

"Actually what I really needed to ask you Paige, god this is going to be embarrassing but…" Emily began once again, before frowning slightly when she saw the other girl trying to hold back a laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Paige said, though her grin grew wider.

"What is it?" Emily said this time her brow furrowing in annoyance.

"I'll make you a deal," Paige began, setting her cup down on the counter. "You tell me why you're so uncomfortable right now, and I'll tell you why it's funny."

"Okay," Emily said skeptically, looking at Paige as if she was crazy. "Last night…I wasn't myself. I don't usually get so out of control. And I…god this is embarrassing. This morning I couldn't really remember if…Paige did we, you and me, we didn't…I mean what I'm trying to ask is, did we..."

"We didn't have sex," Paige said with a smirk, putting Emily out of her misery. "I would like to think that if we did it would be a little more memorable. Not to sound big-headed or anything…but yeah."

"Right," Emily said, blushing slightly as she saw Paige smirking at her, her gaze intense, the other girl very confident in her words.

"I was trying to figure it out this morning, why you were so…skittish," Paige said with another small laugh, standing to resume mixing her cake mixture turning so she was opposite Emily. "I didn't actually think you would think we hooked up. And if I'm honest, I didn't think you would mind…" Paige trailed off, dipping her head with a blush as she realised how brazen she had become. "Sorry. Though I guess you were pretty far gone."

"How did I end up here?" Emily asked clearing her throat, Paige's words not lost on her._ Didn't think she would mind? _What did she mean by that?

"That's the best part," Paige said, grinning once again, spooning her mixture into their cases as she spoke. "You don't remember leaving the bar?" Emily shook her head nervously, bracing herself for what Paige was about to tell her. "You got us thrown out. Some poor guy was belting his lungs out to Go Your Own Way when you grabbed the mic out of his hands and proceeded to tell the entire bar you could sing it way better. I think you made him cry," Paige began to laugh as she watched Emily's eyes widen, the dark-haired girl burying her face in her hands.

"Then what happened?" Emily cringed, afraid of what else might have occurred on her journey to Paige's apartment the night before.

"You were pretty upset that you weren't allowed to finish, so I tried to get you to call a friend to come pick you up but you wouldn't have it. You refused to go home because your roommate is a_ fun sponge?_ I think that's how you put it and that Ellie? I think it was, would scold you because she doesn't approve of binge-drinking. So you decided we should go for food instead."

"Chicken wings…" Emily said, the look of horror and realisation crossing over her face as she finally remembered something, blushing slightly at how unattractive she must have looked as she sat and devoured the bucket.

"See, it's all coming back," Paige said with a grin, walking over and patting Emily on the back supportively. "You still didn't want to head home after that so I figured you may as well just stay here, it's not far from the bar. And may I say, my roommate _greatly _appreciated your beautiful rendition of Survivor by Destiny's Child at 4am this morning,"

"Oh my gosh," Emily said, sinking her head into her hands once more before looking up and laughing. "That's why I'm Motherf'lng Beyoncé? No wonder she looked so angry when she answered the door. I'm so _so_ sorry. I'm so embarrassed, I don't normally get like that it's just…well sorry."

"Don't be, it's…probably the most fun I've had in a long time," Paige said, smiling so genuinely it made Emily's heart skip. She found herself once again getting lost in the other girls eyes, a small smile tugging onto her lips. "And if it means anything, I think you had a lot of fun too."

"Sounds like it," Emily said with a nervous laugh, the look Paige was giving her once again making her shiver. "So, nothing happened between us?" Emily said breaking eye contact as the were once again surrounded by a familiar tension.

"Nah, I slept on the couch. Didn't want you waking up and getting the wrong idea…but then again I guess that happened anyway." Paige shook her head with a small laugh.

"I'm sorry, I feel so stupid for just assuming you would sleep with me just because we were drunk. Or even that you'd want to…"

"I would. Want to that is," Paige said, Emily's eyes widening once again at how forward Paige was being. "But I wouldn't take advantage of you. I brought you here to look after you, nothing else. Besides, you're kind of a blast once you let loose Em…uh Emily."

"You can call me Em," Emily laughed lightly, watching as Paige rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"Okay, Em," Paige smiled, thinking for a moment before carefully reaching across the counter to place a hand on Emily's shoulder, suddenly becoming serious. "People say a lot of crap when they're drunk. But last night…"

Emily watched as Paige trailed off, the hand that was resting on her shoulder dropping as she turned away, placing her cup down in the sink. "What about last night?"

"We talked a lot. About a lot. I got the impression that you aren't exactly happy with…certain things," Paige began, Emily looking up at her in confusion and forcing her to continue. "At one point you were talking about how much you want to go to USC instead of Penn, how great it would be to road trip to California. And that you couldn't go, because you _had_ to stay here in Philly. And I don't know the hows and whys, so maybe I'm way out of line saying this, but it made you so happy just talking about it. Maybe it was just the booze, but honestly I don't think it was. I think you really want to go for it…and that you really should."

"You're right," Emily said, slightly taken aback that Paige had brought the subject up, equally as taken aback that she had actually opened up to the girl in her drunken state. She had been researching the same programme at USC, mapping out a route, but she knew better than to bring it up with Ellie, or her parents, even her friends for that matter. Paige turned to face her with a small smile on her face. "You don't know the hows and whys," she added, Paige nodding her head in acceptance as Emily stood up. "Thank you for the coffee, and for helping me clear things up, oh, and for these," Emily added, handing Paige the bag with her clothes.

"No problem," Paige smiled, realising that she had clearly said the wrong thing as Emily made her way towards the front door.

Catching Emily's arm before she pulled away to leave, she panicked slightly before opening her mouth to speak. "I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have said anything it's just…" she trailed off, seeing Emily's eyes fixed on her own. Unable to read the other girls expression, she dropped her hand that had still been holding Emily's arm lightly, watching curiously as Emily moved her own hand slowly, moving towards Paige's cheek and stroking it gently. Paige's breath caught slightly as she felt Emily's movements, confused as to how they had went from Emily leaving a moment ago to the other girls hand coming to rest on her face, the two inching closer and closer together.

"You're definitely a messy cook Paige," Emily spoke softly, moving her hand to Paige's nose to gently brush the flour away. "You are absolutely covered in cake mix. You're lucky its kind of…adorable."

"Uh, thanks, I think," Paige said with a nervous giggle, watching Emily intently, the other girls eyes flitting around her face as she brushed away spot after spot of the mixture. "Can I…" Paige began, tentatively lifting her hand to Emily's cheek and leaning in, startling slightly as Emily quickly pulled away.

"I should get going," Emily said pulling back, her voice slightly hoarse as she spoke. _What was she doing? _Paige was just trying to help her out by bringing up their conversation. And standing there, covered in flour, all Emily could think to do was lean forward and brush it away, as if she had known Paige forever, and this was something she witnessed often. She backed away hastily as she realised how much she needed to leave, unable to fully trust herself in such close proximity to the other girl; that knowledge alone scaring her slightly.

"No problem," Paige said, taking a step back herself and rubbing at a spot of flour on her jeans. "It was really nice meeting you Emily."

"Likewise," Emily said with a small smile, allowing Paige to open the door for her.

"Hopefully I'll see you again sometime," Paige smiled softly. "Without the memory loss of course,"

"Maybe," Emily said, glancing at Paige's smile one last time before leaving the apartment, a strange sadness settling in her chest as she heard the door click shut, realising that it was highly unlikely she would ever see Paige again. Shaking her head, knowing it was best to just let it go, she made her way down the corridor; her next port of call Ellie's apartment.

* * *

Paige sighed and bashed her head against the door, cursing her inability to know when to stop talking. When Emily had called her after leaving so hastily that morning, she could hardly believe her luck, determined this time round to charm the other girl somehow, to maybe even ask her out on a date. She was now certain that the other girl wouldn't be coming back again after whatever had just happened.

"That was a total disaster, I thought you were supposed to be _smooth _McCullers?" Paige groaned as she heard Dawn's voice from behind her, walking back into the kitchen to see her roommate was now sitting at the counter eating the cake mix with a spoon.

"I intend on baking those," Paige said motioning to the cake tins, Dawn simply shrugging and taking another lick in response. "You were listening in?"

"Duh," Dawn smirked, Paige shaking her head at the other girl. They had been friends since High School, and despite the other girls sometimes abrasive personality, Dawn had been the obvious choice for Paige when she decided to move back to Philly a month ago. Living with her parents was not an option she wanted to consider, and she had been thankful Dawn had taken her in with open arms. "I wanted to see why you got so excited when she called you back, what all the fuss was about. And also your game is hilariously tragic."

"_Game?_ I wasn't even trying there, I was just setting the record straight for her." Paige shrugged, leaning against the counter and tapping nervously. "She was nice, is all. Fun,"

"And drop dead gorgeous," Dawn added with a smirk. "Nice work P."

"It's a lost cause. She was so freaked out when she thought we had hooked up…she clearly doesn't even like me that way," Paige sighed, taking a seat at the counter.

"She _did_ kiss you though," Dawn reminded her, as if she could actually forget.

"She doesn't remember doing that," Paige said sadly.

"She came over here to ask you what happened last night, and you didn't tell her about the kiss? Or attempt to jog her memory with a little re-enactment…"

"It wasn't exactly earth-shattering," Paige said with another sigh. "She kissed me once and then…honestly I think she went to throw up."

"How romantic," Dawn said dryly. "I can see why you're so keen on her now."

"Shut up," Paige huffed, sitting up to face her friend. "She's…there was just something about her okay, she's…different. Beautiful too. I want to know more."

"Fuck me in the ear, when did you become such a sap?" Dawn said, standing and making her way toward the door. "Either stop being such a pussy and _call her_, or forget her and find a new plaything." Paige opened her mouth to protest, watching as a grin tugged onto Dawn's lips as Paige's phone began ringing. "Or be happy she's calling you. I'm going back to bed because _somebody _woke me up at 4 in the morning._"_

Paige waved Dawn off impatiently, her face falling slightly when she looked down at the screen to find that it wasn't Emily's number but her Mothers. "What now…" she sighed, lifting the phone to answer it.

* * *

"I'm just saying a call or text would have been nice," Ellie said pointedly as Emily pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Her head, despite it now being the late afternoon, was still pounding incessantly, not helped at all by the fact her brain had been spinning with confusion ever since she had left Paige's apartment that morning. Unfortunately the relaxing afternoon she had hoped to spend with her girlfriend was not going to plan. "I didn't hear from you at all, all day! Something could have happened to you. I called Spencer, you weren't home."

"I said I'm sorry okay, I've told you, I got too drunk and thought it would be best if I headed home, and this morning I wasn't there because I needed some fresh air, so I took a walk," Emily said, frowning slightly at the small lie she had to tell. Explaining to Ellie that she did in fact stay in the city last night with a woman she barely knew was _not _worth the hassle it would cause, especially now she knew her night at Paige's was nothing to worry about.

"It's not like you to get wasted, I figured you knew better than to do that," Ellie said, Emily looking up at her in annoyance.

"_Knew better than to do that? _I'm sorry _Mom_, I didn't realise I wasn't allowed to celebrate _finally _finishing college," Emily said, crossing her arms across her chest defensively, turning away from her girlfriend in an attempt to calm her rising temper.

"I worked a 12 hour shift before the party yesterday, waiting up for you because you wanted to go wild was not something I needed to do, but I did. For you." Ellie said sternly, Emily having to bite her tongue. "If that's how you get because you're happy to finish _college _then imagine the states you'll get yourself into once you've finished your little swim-camp and actually have to do a real days work."

"Excuse me?" Emily said, spinning around in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? Have you heard what you just said?"

"Emy…"

"No, don't," Emily said, moving away as Ellie tried to take a step towards her. "Don't Emy me. I know that you work hard, really hard, but don't you dare say I haven't done the same. I didn't ask you to wait up for me, I didn't even say I was definitely coming back here!"

"Okay, Emily, babe, look I'm sorry."

"Just admit it okay, you hate the fact I chose to work for Fulton this summer instead of moving here with you," Emily began, her shoulders sinking as her anger waned. "You hate that I've decided something by myself for a change,"

"Emily, What? That's not it at all. I just don't want to see you wasting your time…"

"Wasting my time?" Emily said, her voice raising in anger.

"I didn't mean…" Ellie began, shoulders slumping.

"You did."

"I'm sorry okay, I've had a long day…."

"Yeah, so have I," Emily sighed, turning and making her way out of the door.

* * *

Shuffling nervously on the front porch, Paige prayed silently that she wasn't about to walk into a war zone. She couldn't hear any noise from inside the house, a good sign. Still she frowned when there was no answer, knocking firmly once again, this time with a little more intent.

"What are you doing here?" Caitlin sighed as the door opened, Paige offering her sister the best smile she could muster.

"Mom called," Paige said, pushing past her sister to make her way into the house. Nothing had seemed to have changed since she lived here herself, aside from the missing photograph on the stairway. Three portraits used to hang there; her, her sister, then her brother, Paige feeling a familiar sting of pain as she saw the empty space where her picture once was. "Are you okay?"

"We are fine without you," Caitlin said, shutting the door with force, the sound startling Paige slightly. "I was taking care of it."

"Look, you hate me, I get it. Where's Evan?" Paige said, her patience with the younger girl already wearing thin. She watched as Caitlin pointed to the lounge, before turning to stomp up the stairs.

"Teenagers," Paige muttered under her breath as she watched the girl go, making her way into the Lounge to see her brother sniffling on the couch. "Hey kiddo, you okay?"

"Mom and Dad were fighting…" Paige sighed, she had thought as much, her Mother hadn't gone into much detail on the phone, only asking her to come over and take care of her siblings while she took their Father to the hospital. "And he fell down again…is Dad sick Paige? He's gonna come home right?"

"Of course he is," Paige said supportively, pulling the boy into a hug. "He just gets tired if he lets himself get too stressed out. The doctor will fix him up, and he'll be home in no time, okay?"

"Are you staying?" Evan asked, looking up at Paige with tears in his eyes. She worried about her brother the most; she could see the effects of living in this house were already starting to get to her sister, which she found hard enough to take as it was, but Paige didn't think she could handle seeing the younger boy start to go the same way.

"I'll stay until they get back," Paige smiled, leaning back onto the couch and motioning for him to cuddle into her side. "Let's not worry for now, okay? We just have to wait it out. Hey, look what I made for you," Paige smiled, seeing Evan grin as she pulled out the cake tin.

"Coconut?" He asked, pulling off the lid and smiling widely as he saw what was inside.

"Your favourite."

* * *

Emily huffed as she arrived at her apartment; the key sticking in the lock the latest thing to go wrong that day. Closing it a little harder than she should have, she plonked herself down on the nearest chair, reaching over to grab a slice of pizza from the box on the coffee table, Hanna and Spencer looking at her with bemused expressions.

"Hello to you too," Hanna said, reaching forward to grab a slice of her own. "And yes, please help yourself to my pizza, of course I was saving the very last slice of pepperoni _especially _for you," she continued, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Hi," Emily said letting out a long breath, trying to calm herself down. She had managed to let herself get more and more aggravated during the one hour drive from Ellie's apartment, flitting between pure anger at Ellie's words to pure anger at herself for getting so worked up in the first place. She realised now she'd just bulldozed her way into what was probably a laid-back evening her friends were enjoying. "Sorry, bad day."

"Want to talk about it?" Spencer asked, pausing the movie she and Hanna had been watching to give Emily her full attention.

"Not really," Emily mumbled through a mouthful of pizza, seeing that Spencer wasn't really going to take no for an answer. "Ellie and I had another fight,"

"What was it this time?" Spencer asked cautiously, before another thought came into her mind. "Was it about this morning?"

"What was this morning?" Hanna asked looking between the two.

"Nothing, this morning…everything was a big misunderstanding," Emily said, Spencer nodding her head in understanding as Hanna shrugged and went for another slice of pizza. "Everything always has to be on her terms you know? Nothing I do is ever good enough for her…she was just having another go at me about the summer programme, and…we got into a stupid fight about it as usual. Not to mention how pissed she was about my no-show last night..."

"Your no-show?" Hanna said quirking an eyebrow, catching on to the look Spencer and Emily shared. "Nuh uh, don't shut me out, what do you mean your no-show?"

"I didn't go back to Ellie's place last night, I was…too drunk," Emily said, sighing as her mind once again flitted back to Paige. In her day long attempt to piece together the night before the other girl had scarcely been far from her mind, and that fact was beginning to make Emily slightly uncomfortable.

"You didn't come back here last night either…" Hanna said, a look of realisation quickly coming over her face. "No way…you actually hooked up with Paige? I thought she would probably be into you but _fuck_ Em, I didn't think you would be _that_ into her!"

"Nothing happened Hanna, she was just kind enough to let me crash at her place last night, I was a little…worse for wear." Emily said, Spencer nodding in acknowledgement with a sigh of relief.

"Is that why you wanted her number? To check up on Emily?" Hanna said turning to Spencer, the girl simply rolling her eyes in response.

"I needed her number," Emily said, Hanna turning to look at her with slight confusion. "I couldn't remember leaving the bar last night, and when I woke up this morning in her bed…I got the wrong idea. I just wanted to get my facts straight. Jesus, I am never drinking again."

"Ha! That's ridiculous!" Hanna said, laughing at her friend, Emily tossing a pillow the blondes way in annoyance. She still hadn't recovered from her embarrassment from earlier that day. "You called her and asked her? Did she laugh? Was it awkward as hell?"

"I went over to apologise, and ask. She…sort of laughed I guess but was very gracious about the whole thing, she seems very sweet," Emily said with a small smile at the memory of Paige, with her giddy grin and flour covered cheeks.

"You're right, you could've done worse," Hanna said with a shrug as Spencer started the movie up once again, tossing the pillow back at Emily.

"What do you mean by that?" Spencer asked.

"If she was going to do the dirty on Ellie, she could have done worse than Paige," Hanna clarified, Spencer scoffing in disgust.

_"Hanna!"_

"What? I'm just saying, If I swung that way, I would. Caleb's bedroom was right next to Paige's in Allentown. I don't know what she was doing to those girls in there but it sounded like the _sweetest _kind of torture if you get what I'm saying."

"I honestly cannot believe the things that come out of your mouth sometimes," Spencer said in disbelief, Emily laughing lightly, thankful that this day was finally coming to an end. Nothing had happened with Paige, and nothing would. After sleeping off her hangover she was determined to get back on track, tomorrow was the beginning of her last week of freedom before swim camp started up.

* * *

"Die, die, die, die!" Evan shouted, giggling as he and Paige battled to the death. Keeping her promise from earlier in the week, she had agreed to take the boy off her Mother's hands for the night, having spent the majority of the evening playing a succession of different video games. Her Father had been released from hospital the day after his admission, but still needed plenty of rest, Paige happy to relieve her Mother of some of the stress she was under. She was disappointed, though not at all surprised to find out Caitlin had rejected her offer to join them.

"Easy killer," Dawn chuckled walking into the living room, shaking her head at the mess Paige and her brother had managed to make in the short space of time since he had arrived.

"You wanna play next?" He asked, Paige laughing when she saw the look on Dawn's face.

"Maybe next time Ev," Dawn smiled, the boy simply shrugging and turning back to his game.

"You look nice," Paige said, leaving Evan to his game and following the other girl into her bedroom. "Going somewhere special?"

"Darrell is picking me up in a few," Dawn said with a smirk, rustling through her bag to pull out her phone.

"Deadbeat Darrell?" Paige frowned, Dawn giving her a glare. "I thought you hated him?"

"He'll do for now," Dawn shrugged, giving herself one last once-over in the mirror before grabbing her purse and turning back to Paige.

"_So_ romantic," Paige said sarcastically. "Dawnie, you can do so much better than him."

"I'll happily take relationship advice from you once you stop sleeping around and bother to actually _date _someone_," _Dawn said pointedly, Paige shrugging in acceptance. "What happened to that girl from last weekend? Emma?"

"_Emily. _And nothing, old news," Paige sighed, seeing the smile tugging on Dawns lips. _Here we go._

"Why not? She actually seemed _nice, _and together, not your usual type. You could do way worse," Dawn shrugged. " Isn't the whole point of you being back here so you can finally learn to settle down for a change? Whats the worst that could happen? She says no? Just ask her out."

"No," Paige said, shaking her head. "I told you, she doesn't like me like that. And that's fine, because I don't even know her."

"Ugh, whatever," Dawn said, finally relenting and making her way into the hallway. "I'll say this once, and only once okay. Darrell may be a deadbeat, but at least I'm willing to take a chance on someone. Both you and I know that not matter how much you act like it, you're far from happy flitting from city to city and girl to girl. Take a risk okay? You're usually pretty good at it. If she says no, then move on to the next one."

"Whatever," Paige said with a frown, the slight truth to her friends words stinging.

"Yeah yeah," Dawn said as she reached the end of the corridor. "You can stick Evan in my bed, I doubt I'll be home tonight. Though don't get too excited if you feel me sliding up alongside you in the early hours of the morning."

"Lovely," Paige said sarcastically once again, walking back into the living room and settling back down next to Evan, the two waving goodbye to Dawn and picking up where they had left off. 

* * *

It was now the following Sunday, and Emily had let a week pass without talking to Ellie, aside from the odd passive-aggressive text message now and then. In a way she felt utterly ridiculous, and in truth was beginning to believe she had overreacted in the first place. As much as it annoyed Emily that Ellie would occasionally treat her like she was a child, she knew that deep down, the older girl meant well. Still, her stubbornness had won out, as childish she knew it was she still found herself refusing to be the one to apologise first. She sighed, looking over her things once again. She'd spent the majority of her afternoon preparing for the morning, tomorrow her first day as an assistant coach at Rosewood High's summer swim programme. Hearing her phone buzz she smiled, hoping that perhaps Ellie had finally decided it was time to apologise.

"Hello?"

"Emily! Hi, uh…it's Paige, from the other night, baking Paige...Hanna's friend Paige," Emily smiled slightly as she heard the other girl stumbling over her words, pleasantly surprised to actually be hearing from her.

"Paige," Emily said with a smile, "What can I do for you?"

"It's Karaoke night," Paige began, Emily's stomach sinking as she realised where this was probably going. "And I was wondering if maybe you wanted to give it another shot? With less actual shots this time, I swear,"

"Oh," was all Emily managed to say in response. This was the last thing she had expected, she had been certain she would never see Paige again after they had spoken the last time. She frowned as she realised that perhaps she had given Paige the wrong impression during their alcohol-fused karaoke-fest, sighing as she prepared to let the other girl down gently. "Paige, I have to be honest with you. I'm not…I'm not available,"

"Oh," she heard Paige say, an awkward silence settling between them before she heard Paige cough slightly before speaking again. "Ah…I wasn't asking you on a date!"

"You weren't?" Emily said, slightly embarrassed that she had jumped to conclusions once again when it came to Paige, though she had been certain that Paige had been asking her out, certain that Paige had been about to kiss her before she'd left her apartment the last time they had met.

"No, sorry…I uh…well Hanna and I are going out and I just thought maybe I could invite you too," Paige cringed as she stammered out her reasoning, realising she now had to invite Hanna to a karaoke bar _before _the other girl had the chance to talk to Emily.

"Oh okay, Hanna never mentioned it," Emily said, turning as she heard a knock at the front door. Opening it quietly, she was surprised to see Ellie standing there, a bunch of lilies in her hand, smiling apologetically. "I really can't, I'm sorry, thanks for the invite though," she said, motioning for Ellie to come inside. "Some other time…bye Paige."

"Forgive me?" Ellie said, holding out the flowers, Emily taking them with a small smile. "I hate not talking to you baby, it kills me,"

"I hate not talking to you too," Emily said, watching Ellie's shoulders relax, the older girl letting out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry, I might have overreacted…"

"No, it was my fault," Ellie said, moving forward cautiously and taking Emily's hand in her own. "I think it's really great you're volunteering over the summer Emy, those kids are really lucky to have you,"

"You really think so?" Emily said, the look in the other girls eyes quickly breaking any resolve she had to stay mad.

"I do, it can only help in the future," Ellie smiled, leaning forward to place a soft kiss on her girlfriends cheek. "Here," she said as she pulled back, holding out a silver whistle in front of her.

"A whistle?" Emily said with a chuckle, taking the chain from the blondes hands as Ellie moved forward to wrap her arms around her waist.

"For starting the races or whatever coaches need whistles for," Ellie shrugged, trailing soft kisses up Emily's neck. "So, do you forgive me?" she asked as her lips reached Emily's jaw, Emily nodding with a smirk as she pulled the other girl closer, connecting their lips in a passionate kiss, happy their fight was over.

* * *

After nervously trying to get past the doorman, thankful that he didn't seem to remember her from the week before, Paige walked into the bar, happy to see that tonight there wasn't a karaoke machine in sight. She made her way toward the bar, scanning the room quickly, her eyes settling on Hanna, finding the blonde tucked into the same booth she and Emily had shared when Paige had dragged her in here. Catching Paige's eye, Hanna waved quickly before lifting her near-empty glass, signalling for Paige to get her a refill before she came over to join her. Laughing lightly at the other girls actions, Paige nodded before turning to catch the attention of the barmaid.

"This place is…" Hanna began, scanning the bar once again. Placing the two drinks on the table before sliding into the booth opposite Hanna, Paige took a look around as she took her seat.

"Kind of…rustic," Paige said, answering for her, realising now that she was sober how run-down the place actually was. It was still as dimly lit as she remembered, but she could now see the wear-and-tear clearly, the faint smell of stale alcohol lingering in the air.

"Beats coffee I suppose," Hanna shrugged, picking up the drink Paige had given her and taking a sip. ""FYI, no matter how many of these you buy me tonight, you're not getting in my pants," Hanna said pointing to her cocktail.

"Noted," Paige said with a chuckle.

"So, how come you've moved back to Philly? You always hated coming home." Hanna asked.

"Family troubles, my Dad was ill for a while, so…." Paige said trailing off. "How come you're staying in Rosewood for the summer? You always hated going home,"

"Family," Hanna said with a sigh. She had once been close with Paige during the year she had lived with Caleb, both girls having gained a relative understanding of each others reasons for not wanting to return to their respective hometowns. "My Mom…"

"She's still?"

"Yeah," Hanna sighed once again. "So, how is your Dad anyway?"

"He's alright, good days and bad days, I don't really see him often. Just the kids." Paige shrugged sadly. "Hanna…not to sound rude but, did you really want to hang out to talk about my Dad?" Paige said, the blonde averting her gaze telling her all she needed to know.

"No," Hanna said, feeling slightly guilty that she felt the need for small talk, knowing full-well that Paige could see through her façade.

"I haven't heard from Caleb for a couple of months, last I heard he was on the move," Paige said, answering the unasked question, Hanna nodding thankfully. Paige had kept in touch with Caleb intermittently since they had moved out of their house in Allentown, though not as often as she knew she probably should have.

"I'm sorry Paige…I'm really happy to see you, I am, just when I saw you in the bar…all I could think about was Caleb. I had to know how he was. And I figured if you were still in contact that maybe…"

"I wouldn't tell you anything," Paige said, cutting Hanna off once again. "Incase he didn't want me to. Um, let's think. I stayed with him out in Cali for a couple of months, last year I think it was? He was doing good. He isn't angry with you Han. Not anymore. And he hasn't found anybody else,"

"I just want him to be happy…"

"Happy with you," Paige said with a smirk, Hanna rolling her eyes. "He'll never be over you. I still think you'll find your way back to each other eventually."

"You're a romantic now?" Hanna said quirking an eyebrow, remembering Paige used to be the type to scoff at the idea of soul mates and everything in-between.

"No," Paige scoffed, taking a swig of her beer. "I just know the real deal when I see it. Regardless of what happened between you two, I think that the kind of bond you had…it doesn't just go away," Paige reached across the table to give Hanna's hand a quick squeeze, seeing the effect talking about her and Caleb had on the other girl.

"So do you have a special someone?" Hanna smiled, it now Paige's turn to roll her eyes. "Did you leave someone behind on your travels?"

"Definitely not," Paige shook her head. "And I'm not going to get anywhere if my friends are setting me up with girls who are already taken," Paige said pointedly.

"Emily told you about Ellie?" Hanna said with a sigh, remembering what she had done in desperation at the club the week before.

"Not exactly, she let me know she was unavailable," Paige said, trying her best to seem indifferent with a quick shrug. She was now glad she _hadn't _mentioned Emily kissing her when the girl had visited her the week before, thinking of the damage it could have caused but saddened to now realise it really was clearly just a drunken mistake and nothing more.

"I'm sorry…I really don't know why I told you she was into you," Hanna said, playing nervously with the straw in her drink. "I'd had a few cocktails…it seemed like a good idea at the time. I just wanted you to stick around. I get it now, that it was a terrible idea, I should've just been honest with you."

"It's okay," Paige shrugged once again. "No hard feelings. She was _way _out of my league anyway."

"Don't say that," Hanna said, swatting Paige's arm lightly. "If she really had've been single I would be setting you guys up in a heartbeat. Well, if you promised not to ditch her like all those chicks in Allentown."

"You make me sound terrible," Paige said with a laugh. She'd moved into the house in Allentown after dropping out of college, and to say she had went off the rails a little was an understatement.

"You could be a bit of a douche, it's true," Hanna smirked, watching as Paige's eyes widen in mock offence. "But you're also a real sweetheart. And so is Emily, she deserves someone who would appreciate how lucky they are to have her."

"Which I'm sure she has," Paige said, watching as Hanna tilted her head in thought for a moment before shrugging. "You don't like her girlfriend?"

"I like Ellie," Hanna said with her best smile, Paige raising her eyebrow questioningly. "Okay, sometimes she's…just a bit much y'know? Kind of fake. And she treats Em like she's some sort of pet sometimes…like she's too stupid to think for herself. I haven't really been around much but when I have been…it hasn't always been pretty. But Emily loves her a lot…she must be doing something right."

"As long as Emily's happy right?" Paige said with a small frown, wondering if Ellie was one of the reasons Emily wasn't going after her dreams of travel and Med school in California. It was certainly a plausible explanation. She shook her head, remembering it shouldn't matter to her, that anything to do with Emily wasn't really her concern.

"You really liked her didn't you?" Hanna said biting her lip, brow furrowed. "I'm sorry I false set you up. Emily is kind of…easy to fall for."

"We had a lot of fun here, that's true," Paige nodded, deciding that her answer could be taken as neither a yes nor a no. "But It was only one night so, it's not like I'm heartbroken."

"Good," Hanna smiled, reaching across the table and giving Paige's hand a quick squeeze. "Can we have a fresh start? We used to be friends once Paige. Good friends. I promise no more using you for info on Caleb, and if I do set you up with anyone in the future they'll be single and ready to…"

"Don't say mingle and you've got yourself a deal," Paige cut the other girl off with a laugh, the two girls smiling at each other. "Fresh start. I like the sound of that."

* * *

Emily had decided to linger in the natatorium of Rosewood High after her first day of practice had ended, allowing herself to take in the familiar place. She had made many happy memories here, having swam for the Sharks throughout High School. It was swimming in the very pool her feet were currently dangling in that had led to her scholarship at Pittsburgh, and she had to admit to herself the day she had spent training the young girls here had reminded her how much she was going to miss swimming now that she had graduated.

She startled a little as she made her way back towards the locker rooms; hearing raised voices before a loud bang.

"Talk about her like that again, I fucking dare you!" She heard as she rounded the corner, seeing an auburn haired girl had pinned a shorter girl, Harris her name if Emily remembered correctly, to one of the lockers.

"Is everything okay in here?" Emily said, walking towards them, seeing the two girls spring apart, though both were still standing with fists clenched, looking like they were about to come to blows right then and there.

"Everything's fine," said the shorter girl, the one that had been pinned against the locker, her stance softening. "It's nothing honestly. Can I go? My Mom's waiting,"

"Okay," Emily said hesitantly, before motioning for the girl to leave.

"Wait a second," Emily said as she saw the auburn haired girl turn to follow, trying her best to make her voice firm as she spoke. "McCullers right?" Emily asked, recalling Fulton mentioning the girl swam here in term time for the Rosewood Sharks earlier as they had admired her times.

"Caitlin," the younger girl said with a sigh, readying herself for whatever it was Emily was about to say to her. "Please, I can't get into any more trouble, my Dad will kill me if I flunk out on this…"

"Caitlin," Emily said with a smile, motioning for the girl to take a seat beside her on the bench. "You're not in any trouble its just…is everything okay? Did she say something to upset you…"

"I handled it," Caitlin said sternly, standing up to put her things back in her bag.

"I don't necessarily think lashing out at her is the best way to handle it," Emily said softly, trying her best to not sound like she was scolding the other girl.

"I don't necessarily care what you think," Caitlin scoffed, throwing her duffel bag over her shoulder and making her way toward the exit.

"Hey wait up," Emily said, standing and following the girl. "I'm just trying to figure out what happened in here, I'm sorry if it came across any other way. You have another 3 weeks of this programme, I think it would be best if you tried to resolve your issues with…"

"Amy," Caitlin said, Emily thankful the other girl remembered Harris' forename. "And I told you, I don't give a fuck what you think,"

"That's no way to talk to one of your coaches Miss McCullers," Emily sighed in relief as she heard Coach Fulton approaching them, cursing her inability to handle the situation better. "I think we better have a little chat don't you?"

"Coach Fulton I…" Emily began to protest, only to see the older woman waving her off.

"Fields, why don't you go see if you can find Mr McCullers outside, tell him that Caitlin and I won't be a minute."

"My Dad isn't here," Caitlin said sadly, Emily watching as Coach Fulton seemed to nod in understanding. "My sister is picking me up."

"Ah, I remember seeing her earlier," Fulton recalled, a fond smile tugging onto her face at the mention of the girl, before turning to Emily once again. "She was waiting just outside the entrance, Emily, would you mind?"

"Not at all," Emily said, watching as Fulton ushered the teenager into her office, hoping that Caitlin McCullers sister was far more pleasant than the teenager as she made her way toward the exit.


	3. Chapter 3

_Another speedy update. Thanks again for all the feedback on the last chapter, glad that it's been entertaining so far, love hearing your thoughts and theories, do keep it up :) This one got quite long somehow, enjoy!_

* * *

**_Chapter Three: The Crush_**

Paige checked her watch impatiently, taking a seat on the wall opposite the natatorium exit. It wouldn't surprise her if her sister had already left; it wouldn't be the first time she'd snuck off early to avoid Paige picking her up. The majority of the other kids seemed to have left a long time ago, Paige beginning to wonder whether she should make her way inside to look for her sister as she glanced down at her watch once again.

"Paige?" She kept her eyes fixed on her watch, sure that her ears were playing tricks on her. Looking up she realised she wasn't imagining things, stood in front of her clad in Rosewood Sharks warm-ups, was Emily, a girl she had vowed to forget about after her conversation with Hanna the night before.

"Emily? Hi," She said, standing and awkwardly brushing the tops of her thighs, as if sitting on the wall had made her somehow unpresentable. "You're a swim coach?"

"Just for the summer," Emily said, smiling at the other girl, looking down at her warm-ups and crossing her arms across her chest timidly. "I'm volunteering. What are you doing here?"

"I'm just waiting for my sister, she's swimming here actually," Paige smiled, watching as Emily's brow furrowed, her eyes falling to the floor. "Ah. I take it you've met Caitlin then?"

"It's Paige McCullers?" Emily asked.

"That would be me. Is she still in there? She's getting pretty good at giving me the slip…"

"Coach Fulton just wanted to have a quick word with her. I came out here to tell her sister she wouldn't be a moment, and I guess that sister would be you," Emily smiled nervously, looking back up to Paige. She was wearing the same or at least similar tight black jeans from the night at the club, topped by a cut-off shirt that left little to the imagination. Her hair was down this time, Emily only now realising how long it actually was. Quickly noticing that she was practically gawking at Paige, she looked up to see with relief that Paige's attention wasn't on her, but on the exit of the High School. "She really shouldn't be long."

"Is she in trouble?" Paige asked knowingly, it was no secret that her sister was becoming more and more difficult as time went on.

"I don't think so," Emily said, honestly feeling she couldn't say one way or another. "She got into an altercation with another girl…"

"Sounds about right," Paige sighed shaking her head. "Did she hurt anybody?"

"No. If it's worth anything, I think she might've been provoked," Emily said, cautiously moving so that she was leaning beside Paige on the wall.

"Provoked how?" Paige asked, worry etched on her face.

"I don't really know," Emily said with a sigh, realising she wasn't really being much help. "I'm sorry, it all happened pretty quick."

"Don't be. I don't know what to do with her," Paige sighed sadly. "She won't talk to me, about anything."

"I'm sure she will eventually," Emily said with an optimistic smile. "She's what fifteen? We've all been there."

"Yeah," Paige nodded, hoping that Caitlin would end up nothing like she had been at fifteen. She didn't hold out much hope for Caitlin opening up to her anytime soon. "It's only her first day here you know? I just don't want her to blow it over god knows what."

"I'll look out for her okay?" Emily said sympathetically, noticing the worried look that had made its way onto Paige's face, resting her hand supportively on Paige's shoulder.

"Thanks Emily," Paige said softly, letting her gaze linger on the other girls face for just a second longer than she knew she should.

"Have a good night with Hanna?" Emily asked, deciding to try to make conversation after a quick glance towards the exit let her know that Caitlin wasn't on her way out anytime soon.

"I did actually," Paige said, smiling as she remembered the night before. Once they had decided on a fresh start, they had settled into easy conversation, the blonde keeping her entertained with her stories of New York and strangely assumptious shoe-analysis of the people in the bar; apparently you could tell a lot about someone by looking at their shoes. "I forgot what a hoot Hanna could be."

"She's certainly something," Emily smiled. The two settled into a comfortable silence, Emily's eyes fixed on Paige's boots, Paige's eyes fixed on Emily's face. _Why did she have to be so beautiful? _She thought to herself; the girl could even make tracksuits sexy. She suddenly decided that whoever this Ellie was, regardless of how nice she may be, she hated her. She felt a familiar sickness rising up within her, unable to describe it as anything other than jealousy. Emily had kissed her, and for all they were drunk and the memory was hazy, she was certain it was one of the sweetest kisses she had ever received. She hated that Emily couldn't remember, but what she hated most was the fact she was now so close to the other girl, their faces inches apart, and she was powerless to do anything.

Emily looked up from the spot she had focused on Paige's boot, surprised to find Paige's eyes were fixed on her face, the look in the other girl was giving her scaring her a little. It was so _intense_, as if Paige wanted to devour her. There was no mistaking it, the look in the other girls eyes was pure hunger, making Emily's shiver slightly, unable to tear her gaze away. She was certain nobody had ever looked at her with so much want, the thought, though it made her uneasy, giving her another feeling entirely, one she couldn't quite figure out.

"Am I interrupting something?" Paige finally tore her eyes away, seeing Caitlin walking towards them with a quirked eyebrow, her duffel slung across her shoulder. "I'm sorry I swore at you Coach Fields, I'm going to 'work on my attitude',"

"It's okay," Emily said, slowly turning towards the younger girl. "Just try not to…"

"Lash out next time, got it," Caitlin said, Paige looking between her in Emily in surprise. Her sister very rarely apologised.

"It was nice to see you Em," Paige turned to Emily and flashed her a quick smile, Emily blushing slightly at the way Paige said Em. It was a common nickname, but it simply sounded different when the other girl said it. The three said their goodbyes before Paige and Caitlin climbed into her car, Emily giving them one last wave before turning and walking back into the natatorium.

_"Nice to see you Em?"_ Caitlin asked with a quirk of her eyebrow, looking at Paige with a wry smile. "You pick me up once and already you're scamming on one of my coaches?"

"I wasn't," Paige frowned as she turned the ignition, though she was happy that her sister was talking to her at least. "She's an acquaintance of mine actually, I was just saying hello."

"Acquaintance? So you've already fucked her then?" Caitlin laughed, Paige swatting her on the arm lightly in annoyance.

"Don't talk like that,_" _Paige said with another frown. "She's a friend of a friend is all."

"So you just _want_ to fuck her then?"

"Jesus Caitlin," Paige said sighing, turning to the other girl in dismay. "No, I don't. And she's taken, so I couldn't if I wanted to. And stop talking like that."

"Whatever you say sis," the younger girl said with a smirk.

"How come you had to stay behind and talk to your coach?" Paige asked, hearing Caitlin sighing beside her. "Emily said you got into it with one of the other girls?"

"_Emily _should mind her own business," Caitlin said, her face softening as she saw Paige frown. "Sorry. Coach Fields is actually kind of okay. It was Amy Harris,"

"I thought you got along with Amy?" Paige asked, she remembered the name, having often found herself butting heads with Amy's older brother when she was younger. She had been certain that her sister and the other girl had been friends during middle school.

"When I was like 12, then she got a total personality transplant and now she's a dick." Caitlin said with a shrug. "Look, she said some stuff she shouldn't have, I simply let her know that if she did it again she'd pay."

"What did she say?" Paige asked, looking to her sister expectantly. The other girl stared straight ahead, fixing her eyes on the road, Paige sighing as she realised her sister was going back to giving her the silent treatment. "Caitlin…"

"Some shit about you being gay okay?" Caitlin sighed, turning to face her sister. "One of the girls, Maddy, well there's this rumour going about that she's…like you. Amy teased her about it and when I told her to step off she said I only gave a shit because…"

"Because?" Paige asked cautiously as she saw the younger girl trailing off.

"Because my sister was a slutty dyke, and it wouldn't surprise her if I decided to try to sleep my way through the swim team just like you," Paige let out a sigh. She hadn't even attended Rosewood High like her sister, not knowing exactly how rumours like that had managed to spread. She decided to put it down to the summer programme, girls from all over the region were attending after all, but of course there was Amy and her brother to consider. "She said you slept with her brothers girlfriend after High School? Is that true?"

"She wasn't his girlfriend at the time." Paige sighed, watching as Caitlin shook her head in disappointment. "Maybe she was, but as far as I knew, she was supposed to be _my girlfriend_. And I didn't…those are just dumb rumours okay?"

"I know that, Amy's full of shit." Caitlin said with a frown, turning her attention back to the road. "It's just…why do you have to…"

"Be gay?" Paige asked, Caitlin scoffing in annoyance.

"No…never mind okay." Caitlin sighed, Paige accepting that she shouldn't push. "Promise me you won't screw Coach Fields? I saw the look you were giving her Paige, just don't go there okay? If the girls found out it would just mean more shit for me."

"I…Cait I don't even know Coach Fields, nothing is going to happen," Paige said shaking her head. "Did you tell your coach about what Amy said? To Maddy I mean? Not about me," Paige asked, a sadness settling inside her as she realised that maybe her sexuality could still be causing her sister some problems at school.

"Maddy doesn't want anyone to know about it, I told Coach I went for Amy because of what she said about you." Caitlin said. "Anyways, I handled it. She let me off with a warning and she's gonna talk to Amy tomorrow."

"I'm…I'm glad you were sticking up for that girl, but threatening people with violence isn't the best way to go about it Cait," Paige said, bracing herself for the backlash she was sure to receive.

"I know," Caitlin said, surprising her slightly. "Paige, you know I don't hate you because you're gay right?" Paige nodded quietly, reaching over to give her sisters knee a quick squeeze. This was the most she had heard her sister say to her in about four years, Paige glad that they were finally getting somewhere. "I hate what you being gay did to our family, but I've never hated you."

* * *

"Are you coming in?" Caitlin asked, taking Paige by surprise as she pulled into her parents driveway. She knew that if her Father was home she would probably cause more harm than good by accepting the invitation, but this was the first time Caitlin had bothered to acknowledge her when she dropped her at home since she had moved back to Philadelphia. "Mom would like it, Ev too,"

"And you?" Paige asked with a small smirk, laughing as her sister simply rolled her eyes and got out of the car. Deciding to take it as a yes, she took a deep breath, before getting out of the car and following the younger girl into the house. She stood nervously in the doorway, watching as Caitlin rolled her eyes once again, taking Paige by the arm and leading her through the house until they reached the kitchen, Paige's Mother breaking out into a smile when she saw both of her daughters making their way into the room.

"Paige, sweetheart, I didn't think I'd be seeing you today," she said with a small smile, walking over to her eldest daughter and pulling her into a hug.

"She's wanted to know if she could stay for dinner," Caitlin said with a devious smirk, watching Paige's mouth flapping as she thought of a polite way to protest. It was too late though, one look towards her Mother and Paige could see how much it meant to the woman.

"That would be wonderful," her Mom said softly as she pulled back from the hug, giving Paige one last squeeze before going back to preparing the food. "My girls together…and Evan will be ecstatic."

"Will Dad mind?" Paige asked cautiously, as of yet she hadn't caught sight of her Father, and the way her Mother stiffened at as she mentioned him was not lost on her.

"He'll probably eat later, after…after we have," the older woman said, before resuming chopping the vegetables.

"After I've gone," Paige corrected her Mother with a small frown, her Mom turning to give her a sympathetic smile.

"If you would just talk to each other…" her Mother began, sighing as she trailed off.

"We both know that rarely ends well," Paige said sadly, trying to remember the last time she had managed to have an actual conversation with her Father, realising it was probably long before she had left for college. "I don't want to stress him out when he's ill. When he's feeling better, I promise you Mom, I'll talk to him."

* * *

"What do you mean you can't make it?" Emily frowned as she made her way out of the natatorium. Her first week at Rosewood had passed by without much incident, and she was beginning to feel comfortable in her role as assistant coach. There had been no further trouble involving Caitlin, and she had been pleasantly surprised to bump into Paige a few times as she was leaving every other day. She was disappointed when she stepped out into the parking lot this Friday to find something was missing.

"I have to work, I'm sorry babe but it looks like I'm going to be here pretty late," Emily sighed as she heard Ellie let her down. She had gotten Spencer to drive her to the school that morning on her own way to work, expecting that her girlfriend would be picking her up that night so they could spend the night together.

"I won't get to see you tonight?" Emily asked with a sigh, before another worry came into her mind. "Wait, how am I supposed to get home?"

"A cab? Maybe Spencer is still in town? I'm sorry Emy, I really have to go, I'll make it up to you, promise." Emily was about to speak when the line went dead.

"Great," she sighed, flicking through her phone to try to find Spencer's number, though she knew it was a long shot, before groaning as her battery went dead.

"Trouble?" She startled as she heard someone walk up behind her, relaxing slightly when she saw who it was.

"Hi Paige," she said with a quick smile, turning to see Paige had pulled up in front of her, the other girl parking her car and walking towards her.

"So, whats the verdict? Did the first week leave you wanting more or have the girls destroyed your soul?" Paige chuckled, Emily looking up to give the girl a quick smile.

"I'm really enjoying it actually," Emily answered, before frowning once again as she glanced down at her now useless cellphone. "Could I borrow your phone? I wouldn't ask only my ride hasn't turned up and mine is dead."

"Need to call a cab?" Paige said pulling her phone out, seeing Emily nod. She scanned through her numbers, bringing up the number of a local cab firm before holding it out to Emily. She pulled it away as Emily reached out to take it. "Actually, if you don't mind dropping Caitlin off first I can drive you,"

"That's really kind of you Paige, but it's pretty out of your way," Emily politely declined. It was a one hour drive from the High School to her apartment, and she had no idea how far away Caitlin lived.

"Really, it's no problem," Paige said once again, Emily opening to protest before Paige began speaking once more. "Honestly Em, hop in," Paige grinned, opening the passenger door of her car and motioning for Emily to climb in.

"I'll make this up to you," Emily said gratefully as she climbed in the car, Paige following suit as they watched Caitlin approaching. The girl did not look particularly happy to see her Coach sitting in the front seat of her sisters car.

The drive to the McCullers house was relatively quiet, save for some small talk between Emily and Caitlin about their week at Rosewood. Paige pulled up onto the driveway, watching as Caitlin flashed her a cautionary glance in the rearview. "See you Monday Coach," she smiled sweetly at Emily, before turning to Paige with a pointed glare. "This better not be what I think it is," she said, motioning to Emily. "Keep your promises."

Paige simply rolled her eyes in response, waving goodbye to Caitlin, watching as she made her way into the house before setting off down the road.

"What better not be what she thinks it is?" Emily asked sceptically, having noticed the strange exchange between the two sisters, as well as the way Caitlin had looked to her when she had spoken.

"God only knows," Paige smiled nervously, turning her attention back to the road. Was it really so obvious she was attracted to Emily? Or was Caitlin simply jumping to conclusions because of what she expected of Paige when it came to beautiful women? Whatever the reason, Paige didn't want Emily catching on, trying her best to think of a way to change the subject. "So, don't you drive?"

"I do," Emily said with a frown as she remembered how she had ended up in Paige's car. "My girlfriend, Ellie, she was meant to pick me up today but had to work late, so…here I am."

"Paige to the rescue," Paige said with a nervous chuckle, cringing internally at how lame she must have sounded, not to mention the unwelcome twinge of jealousy she felt at the mention of Ellie's name, silently hoping it hadn't shown on her face. "Have you guys been together long?"

"Since my Freshman year," Emily answered, feeling slightly awkward talking to Paige about her girlfriend given how she had Paige had met. Emily knew she didn't feel strange about it because she barely knew Paige - from what she knew of the night they had spent together she had found herself perfectly comfortable opening up to the other girl. She suspected it was because of the things Paige had said the morning after; the way Paige had confessed so brazenly that she would sleep with Emily under the right circumstances, the way she had leant in as they had stood in the doorway, both things giving Emily the impression that Paige found her attractive. Then of course she had jumped to the conclusion that Paige had asked her out the week before, which hadn't been the case according to the girl beside her. She didn't really know what to think, or whether she should be thinking anything at all for that matter.

"That's a long time," Paige said, trying her best not to let her disappointment show. If they had dated throughout college, the couple were most definitely serious, and Emily was not going to be available anytime soon. She cursed herself internally, she certainly had a thing for lost causes.

"Yeah," Emily smiled, thinking back over the four years she had spent with Ellie. "I never thought I'd be one of those people who settle down straight away in college but, I guess these things happen when you least expect it." She had left Rosewood High intent on staying single after a turbulent relationship had marred the majority of her senior year, but once Ellie had came into the picture it had been hard to deny her feelings for the older girl, the structure and commitment Ellie had offered her a welcome change after her time in Rosewood.

"So I'm told," Paige said dryly, fixing her attention to the road and wishing she had never asked about this _Ellie _that Emily had so easily settled down with.

"You're single?" Emily asked, motioning to Paige that she should take the next exit.

"Uh, yeah," Paige nodded with a curt smile. "I don't really date often…I don't know how long I'm going to be back here so, I'm not really looking for anything serious."

"You're planning on moving again?" Emily asked, remembering the long list of places Paige had been before she had found herself living in Philly.

"At some point, I'm sure I will," Paige said, not having really thought about whether her return home could be made permanent. "I'd like to stick around for Caitlin, I have a brother too, he's only young. But uh, no plans as yet either way. I guess it all depends, if I find a good reason to go someplace else, or find a good reason to stay."

"Maybe you'll meet someone special," Emily said offhandedly, watching as Paige glanced towards her with a sad smile. "Hanna likes to think she's a matchmaker, maybe she'll set you up."

"Yeah," Paige chucked to herself. "Considering the last person she tried to set me up with was you, I'm not holding out much hope."

"Me?" Emily asked, Paige looking over in surprise. She sighed to herself, realising that Hanna obviously hadn't mentioned it to Emily. "Why would she try to…"

"I meant…she didn't…shit," Paige said, failing to think on her feet. "At the bar, when she thought I was going to leave without telling her anything about Caleb, she may have told me that I was your type so that I would have an incentive to stay."

"_Jesus _Hanna," Emily sighed, unable to believe the stupid situations her friend often managed to put them in. "I'm so sorry, she's…I can't believe her sometimes."

"We talked about it, it's all good," Paige said trying to rectify her mistake and ensure that Hanna didn't get into any trouble because of her. "I didn't realise you didn't know…I'm sorry, please don't be mad at Hanna, she's apologised to me, no hard feelings."

"Wait a minute, so that night you thought I was interested in you?" Emily asked, her mind flitting back to the events of the night, at least the ones she remembered.

"I guess so," Paige answered truthfully.

"Were you interested in me?" Emily asked, her mouth simply spewing out anything on her mind at this point.

"Emily," Paige squirmed, cursing herself for slipping up and getting herself into this mess.

"Were you interested in me?" Emily repeated insistently.

"I thought you were beautiful, I'll admit that much," Paige said honestly, sighing and once again fixing her eyes on the road ahead.

"Right," Emily said, an awkward silence filling the car as the conversation ended abruptly. Maybe Paige was simply trying to be charming. Or maybe, like she suspected earlier, she had been right. Paige did like her. Had tried to kiss her. Was asking her on a date the other night. In fact, she was sure of it. "And now?"

"Now what?" Paige asked, giving a cautious glance in Emily's direction.

"When you see me do you still…" Emily trailed off. Why would she ask Paige that? Why did she want to know? She liked Paige. Their meetings, though brief, were always pleasant, there was a calmness to being around Paige that made her comfortable. Even now, with the sheer awkwardness of the conversation they were having, she was perfectly at ease with the other girl. She knew that any possibility of the two becoming friends was becoming slimmer and slimmer the more questions she asked.

"You're setting me up for a loss already," Paige said matter-of-factly,

"What do you mean?" Emily asked, turning to Paige in confusion.

"If I say yes, I still think you're beautiful, and tell you I'm cursing my damn luck that you're unavailable, that's just…_way_ awkward, and may take away any chance we have of these random meetings we keep having blossoming into a beautiful friendship," Paige said with a small smile. "And if I say no, well, surely that would just offend you, and your beautiful face."

"I guess you're right," Emily said with a light laugh, seeing the small smirk on Paige's face. "Can we just, forget we ever had this conversation?"

"Sure," Paige said with a smile, Emily pointing to a building up ahead telling Paige they had reached their destination. "Start over?"

"I'd like that."

* * *

With her first week at Rosewood down, and after her girlfriend's no-show the night before, Emily had been pleasantly surprised when Ellie had picked her up on Saturday morning, driving them a little way outside the city to a nearby lake, a popular spot during the summer. Emily was glad that the two of them could spend the day together relaxing in the sun. The lake was busy, it was the summer break after all, an abundance of families and teenagers splashing around in the water or bathing in the sun. It was rare occurrence; Ellie was usually working on weekends, the couple normally having to settle for quiet evenings together at Ellie's place, lately Emily had found they had scarcely been going out.

"Fancy a swim?" Emily said with a smile, standing up to tug off her clothes, stripping down to her bikini. After lying in the sun for the past hour or so, she couldn't resist the urge to swim any longer.

"That's your thing babe," Ellie shrugged, looking up from the book she was reading to give Emily an apologetic smile. "Go ahead."

"You sure I can't tempt you?" Emily asked, leaning down to hover over her girlfriend, placing a soft kiss to her lips. Ellie simply rolled her eyes, leaning up to kiss Emily once more, a little firmer this time, and shaking her head.

"I'll stick to dry land."

"Suit yourself," Emily said, turning and making her way down to the lake.

The sun was warm, but dipping her toes in the water had her jumping back, the clear water far colder than she had expected it to be. Deciding to work herself up to diving in fully, she tentatively dipped her feet in, walking around the edge of the lake slightly, trying to find a more quiet spot away from the majority of the other revellers. Satisfied that she had found a more peaceful spot, she began wading in until she was about waist deep. She heard a giggle from behind her, turning with a frown when she saw a boy swinging from a rope-swing, watching as he let go and landed with a splash a little further ahead of her, though not far enough away for her to avoid getting caught by the spray. Resurfacing with a large intake of breath, he swam his way over to her, smiling guilty as he paddled in front of her.

"I'm sorry, did I get you?" he asked, Emily managing a small smile as she saw the adorable frown on his face.

"Only a little," she said with a small shrug. "It's okay though, I am in the water after all."

"That's true," he giggled lightly, dipping his head as he did so. "Do you want to have a go?" he asked, motioning behind her towards the rope-swing he had catapulted himself into the water with just moments earlier.

"Oh, I don't think…"

"You okay Ev?" She heard someone shout from behind her, shaking her head as she recognised the familiar voice. _Of course it was. _

"I was just saying sorry to…"

"Emily," she smiled at the boy, before turning and greeting Paige with a wave, the other girl standing on the embankment with a slightly shocked expression before offering Emily a small wave of her own. "Hey Paige."

"Emily!" Paige said with a grin, holding tightly onto the rope as she stood, Emily moving a little closer towards the small bank of dirt that Paige was standing on top of. "It's a great day, isn't it?" Paige said dumbly, simply saying the first thing that came into her mind. She tried desperately to keep her eyes focused on Emily's face, on anything for that matter other than allowing them to slip down and ogle the girls bikini clad body. Emily nodded with a smile, Evan swimming up behind her and clambering back to the top of the hill once again.

"I think Emily should go next," he smiled, holding onto the swing and motioning for Emily to climb up to join them.

"Really I don't think…"

"Come on Em," Paige smirked, moving forward slightly to offer out an arm, Emily grumbling before reaching out to take it, allowing the other girl to pull her up onto the embankment. "Be brave," Paige said quietly into her ear as they came face to face, before letting go of her arm and walking back towards the swing, Emily letting out a shaky breath.

"I'll go first, then you'll see that it's nothing to be scared of," Evan said with a sweet smile, placing his feet on the foothold before motioning for Paige to let go of the rope, the girl pulling back slightly and the boy shooting out over the lake, letting go and hitting the water with a smash much like before.

"He's so cute," Emily said with a chuckle, looking over to Paige. She was wearing a bikini top with a small pair of shorts, her hair and clothes damp, Emily suspecting she had also been flinging herself into the lake like the boy for the best part of the day.

"He's my little brother," Paige said to clarify, grabbing onto the swing as it swung back at them, looking at Emily expectantly. "Your turn," she said with a grin, Emily shaking her head once again.

"Come on, you're fun, remember?" Paige said with a smirk, holding out her hand for Emily to take. "I promise, it's perfectly safe. Trust me." Emily nodded, taking Paige's arm and hoisting herself onto the swing, shivering slightly as she felt Paige's hand come to rest on the bare skin of her back. She felt Paige dragging the rope back, before stopping suddenly and leaning up, Emily feeling the other girls breath on her ear. "Just remember to let go."

With that, Paige did just that, letting go of the rope, laughing to herself as Emily screamed, swinging out over the lake and leaping into the water with a splash. Grinning when she saw the girl resurface, she hopped onto the swing herself before catapulting herself into the water, landing beside Emily and splashing the other girl in the process. She couldn't hold in the laugh as she resurfaced, Emily's mouth hanging open in shock, covered in water. "Sorry," Paige said, laughing lightly. "That was fun though right?"

"I suppose it was," Emily smiled, gently wiping the water away from her face, smiling at Paige as they hovered next to each other in the water, allowing herself one moment to take in the other girl. "I need to stop running into you like this."

"I can't say I mind it," Paige smiled, Emily giving her a nervous chuckle before looking away. They were starting over, she reminded herself. Paige had made it clear driving her home yesterday that they could move past any initial attraction Paige may have had to Emily. There were no more misunderstandings between them, she and Paige, if they wanted, in theory, could be good friends.

"Again?" Evan said as he came up behind them, grinning at the two girls. Emily could see the resemblance now looking between the two McCullers', noting that Evan's grin was even harder to say no to than Paige's.

"Why not."

* * *

She spent the rest of her afternoon with the two of them, losing count of the amount of times Evan had managed to get her onto the swing, the boy seemingly full of energy, and as the day had went on he still didn't seem to be tiring. She had enjoyed being able to see a little more of Paige. This side of Paige to be specific, as she splashed about with Emily and her brother, so care-free, knowing somehow that the way Paige was around the boy, it was clear she cared for him greatly, was a side not many people got to see. Eventually they had climbed out, the two girls sitting on the edge of the lake, Evan deciding that he wanted to stay in the water a little longer. She smiled up at Paige as the other girl walked up behind her, wrapping a towel around Emily before taking a seat beside her.

"Thanks," Emily smiled, looking out onto the lake again and watching as Evan swam about, diving underneath the water only to resurface somewhere else. "He really loves the water,"

"He does indeed," Paige smiled, following Emily's gaze to watch her brother splashing about. "My Dad used to coach swimming, when I was little anyway, so it's kind of a McCullers thing. Out of the womb and into the water."

"Caitlin isn't with you today?" Emily asked, the talk of swimming reminding her of the girl.

"She…had other plans," Paige shrugged. She had thought after their talk, however brief, at the beginning of the week, that Caitlin was starting to warm up to her again. She was disappointed to find out that it wasn't exactly the case.

Emily nodded, realising that it was probably a sore subject, settling for sitting in a comfortable silence instead. She watched as Paige shivered, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I stole your towel," Emily said, beginning to shrug the material off her shoulders to give it back to Paige.

"Don't worry about it," Paige said in protest as Emily wrapped it around her shoulders. "Here," Paige said with a smile, wrapping one side around herself before reaching over and wrapping the other side around Emily and scooting closer, the tops of their arms touching lightly.

"Thanks," Emily smiled, trying her best to ignore the feeling of Paige's skin against her own.

"So, did you talk to Hanna?" Paige asked. "She sent me a text last night that said nothing but taddle-tale, so I'm guessing you did."

"I may have been a little harsh on her for a split second, but we're good now," Emily said. When she had returned home the night before she had spent half an hour bickering with the blonde, much to Spencer's amusement, before finally agreeing that it no longer mattered. After all, she and Paige had cleared the air in the car the night before. The two settled back into a comfortable silence, Emily allowing herself to simply admire the other girl for a moment, watching as a smile tugged onto Paige's face as she once again let her eyes focus on her brother. Suddenly remembering herself, she cleared her throat, moving to wrap the towel around Paige fully once again before standing, crossing her arms in an attempt to cover herself. "I should really be getting back, Ellie will be wondering where I've got to,"

"Ah, okay," Paige said with a forced smile, the mention of Ellie giving her the reality check she had needed since she had stumbled across Emily earlier that day. "It was really nice…"

"…to see you," Emily smiled finishing the other girls sentence, hesitating for a moment before leaning forward to kiss Paige's cheek softly. "As always." Turning as she realised what she had just done, she shouted a quick goodbye to Evan, the boy swimming over to join them, saying bye to Emily with a smile, the two McCullers' watching as she made her way back towards the main area, the crowd of people slowly starting to dissipate as the sun began to set behind them.

"I really like Emily," Evan said, looking up to Paige with a grin as Paige wrapped the towel around him, keeping her arm around his shoulder.

"I really like Emily too." Paige sighed, watching as Emily disappeared into the distance.

* * *

"I was beginning to think you'd ended up in the ocean or something," Ellie quipped as she saw Emily making her way back towards her, setting her book down and handing her girlfriend a towel.

"It's a lake," Emily said flatly, taking the towel and drying herself off.

"Well saying as you're here, we should think about heading back," Ellie said, standing up and tugging on her shirt. "Our reservation is at 7, we need to head off and clean up if we're going to meet Jacob on time,"

"Can we just stay in tonight?" Emily asked as she dressed, shoving her things into her bag. Jacob wasn't her favourite person in the world; a friend of Ellie's since childhood, he made no attempt to hide the fact he had feelings for her, and made sure to let Emily know he knew her girlfriend just as well if not better than her at every opportunity. "I don't really feel up to dinner with your friends,"

"Emy," Ellie said sternly, turning to face the other girl. "_Our _friends. And we can't just blow them off. Besides, all we ever do these days is eat in, it'll be a nice change. I want to wine and dine you,"

"That does sound nice," Emily said relenting, smiling as Ellie laced their fingers together and began to lead her back towards the car. She threw the bags into the boot, closing it with a small yawn, all her activity in the lake tiring her out. Ellie looked at her with a shake of the head, coming around to the back of the car to kiss her softly.

"Wake up sleepy head, I don't want you to be yawning all the way through dinner," Ellie smirked, Emily suppressing the urge to roll her eyes and making her way to the passenger door.

"Bye Emily!" She turned to see little Evan waving frantically from the other side of the parking lot, with what she had come to decide was the McCullers trademark grin plastered over his face. She could help but return the grin, waving goodbye to Evan before climbing into the car, Ellie looking at her with her eyebrow raised.

"Made a friend out on the lake huh?" Ellie chuckled. "Should I be worried? Though he is a little young for you…"

"His sister is swimming at Rosewood this summer," Emily said with a shrug, looking into the wing mirror to see Paige ushering the boy into her car, unable to stop the smile tugging onto her face as she watched the two interact; Evan protesting the fact they were leaving, Paige clearly trying her best to hold her ground and not cave in.

"She looks a little old for a High School swim programme?" Ellie noted, having also managed to spot Paige as they drove out of the lot. Emily rolled her eyes.

"His other sister," Emily said pointedly, looking over to see Ellie smirking at her slightly. A strange feeling settled into her chest as her girlfriend reached over the centre console, lacing their fingers together with a soft smile. She looked down for a moment, wondering what it could be, before looking up to see Paige disappearing in the rearview, realising what the feeling was that had overtaken her. _Guilt._

* * *

Emily sat patiently, waiting for the right moment. Aria had come over to her place that night; Ezra had went out-of-town to visit his son, and Hanna had insisted she joined the three of them for a girls night, a sleepover like they used to have back in high school. The blonde was already staying with her two friends while she was home for the summer. Emily had a question, and she knew Aria was the best person to ask. What she did know was that she under no circumstances wanted to talk to Aria about it when Hanna and Spencer were in the room. Seeing that the popcorn had run out, she took her chance. "Aria, will you help me make some more popcorn?"

"Can you guys get me another soda too?" Hanna asked just as Aria was about to protest, the shorter girl sighing, taking the glass Hanna handed her as she followed Emily into the kitchen. Emily closed the door slightly, before making her way over to the cabinet and taking out another bag of popcorn.

"Aria, you and Ezra have been together forever right?" Emily asked, chewing nervously on her bottom lip, looking over to Aria to see her friend nodding, a slightly puzzled expression on her face. "And you guys really love each other right?"

"We do," Aria said, looking at Emily for an explanation about why she had suddenly become so interested in her marriage.

"Do you ever…" Emily began, frowning slightly as she tried to figure out how to word her question. "Do you ever think about other people?"

"What do you mean?" Aria asked, grabbing the soda's from the fridge as Emily put the popcorn in the microwave.

"Like, do you ever meet someone who isn't Ezra and find yourself…attracted to them?"

"Of course," Aria said, giving Emily a small smile. "You're allowed to think other people are hot Em."

"Right, I know that," Emily said, realising now how ridiculous her question must have sounded. "I mean…do you ever find yourself thinking about someone else, more than you probably should be?"

"Who are we talking about here Em?" Aria asked, placing the soda bottle down and turning to face her friend. Emily realised it was obvious to her friend that she wasn't asking about a hypothetical situation.

"I…I can't stop thinking about Paige," she said, hearing the words out loud startling her slightly, as if it were the first time she was actually admitting it to herself, never mind Aria. It was the truth. Since she had run into Paige outside the natatorium on her first day at Rosewood High, her mind had been filled with thoughts of the other girl, and it was beginning to make her uneasy.

"Paige from the club Paige?" Aria said in surprise.

"Yeah," Emily said with a sigh. "After you guys left that night we had a couple more drinks at another bar. And I've run into her quite a few times since then…and, the more I see her the more…I just, I don't even know what I'm trying to say."

"Are you into her Em?" Aria asked, Emily tearing her eyes away from the timer on the microwave to look at her friend.

Was that it, was she actually into Paige? She barely even knew her. She thought back to the week before, the look Paige had given her whilst they were in the car park waiting for her sister, the way it had made her feel. She thought about how happy she had been at the lake, messing around with Paige and her little brother, not having a care in the world. Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh, nodding slowly as the microwave beeped loudly beside her. "I like her."

"Okay," Aria said, moving over to her friend and giving her arm a supportive squeeze. "Maybe you have a crush on her. That isn't a bad thing Em, don't look so guilty. It's just a crush, I get it, she was cute. It's only bad if you act on it, which you won't do, because you love Ellie."

"Right. I really do."

"What is taking you guys so long?" They heard Hanna calling from the couch. Aria rolled her eyes and gathered up the sodas, giving Emily one last assuring smile before turning and heading out of the kitchen. Emily picked up the popcorn and followed, her mind more at ease now she'd spoken to someone about her worries. She had a minor crush on Paige McCullers, which wasn't a big deal, because that's all it was. A simple crush. And crushes didn't last forever.

* * *

"Paige McCullers I have found just the girl for you!" Paige laughed lightly into the phone. Hanna's enthusiasm, for all it was early in the morning, was making her smile.

"Hello to you too Hanna," she said with a yawn, shifting so she could get more comfortable. "And I've already told you, I don't like set ups,"

"Paige," Hanna began, Paige having to stifle a laugh as she could practically hear the other girl trying not to burst. "I know that. But then I met this girl…"

"You've been single for a while Hanna," Paige said, hearing the other girl sigh. "Maybe it's time you considered exploring a new feeling? If this girl is good enough for me, maybe she'd be good enough for you?"

"Very funny, shut up I'm trying to explain," Hanna said impatiently, Paige rolling her eyes and waiting patiently for Hanna to continue. "So anyway, I was in Rosewood yesterday with Aria, and we ran into her friend, who just so happens to be an utter _babe _and gay as the day,"

"Gay as the day Hanna?"

"Hush," Hanna said exasperatedly once again, "So anyways, Aria and her husband are having some lame ass get together next week, an arts fundraiser? Anyway _Shana _will be there, and I think you should come too so I can fix the two of you up!"

"Uh, thanks, but no thanks," Paige said apologetically, the thought of going to a strangers party to meet some girl Hanna had found in the street not exactly appealing to her. "I'm busy that day."

"I haven't even told you what day it is yet," Hanna huffed, Paige laughing as she heard it.

"Is Emily going to be there?" Paige asked cautiously.

"Yeah…" Hanna said before sighing, clearly having noticed Paige's apprehension had as much to do with seeing Emily as it did anything else. "Paige you said you weren't into her!"

"I'm not!" Paige lied, and she had a strong feeling Hanna knew it. "She's coaching my sister at Rosewood this summer, It'd be nice to ask her how she's getting on that's all."

"Caitlin still isn't talking to you huh?" Hanna asked, remembering Paige's strained relationship with her younger sibling.

"Not really," Paige said sadly.

"You know what would cheer you up?" Hanna said, Paige practically hearing the smirk she surely had on her face.

"Hanna, I'm sure Shana is lovely, but I'm kind of happy just doing myself for the time being," Paige said honestly, hearing Hanna laughing once again and realising the small innuendo she had just made. "Ugh, Hanna. Gross."

"Can you just come anyway?" Hanna said pleadingly. "Everybody's going to have a date, even Spencer found some guy from her Mom's country club to bring with her, I don't want to be the only single person there. You could be my date? I know I'm not your usual type but…you've got to admit I'm cute right?" She smiled as she heard Hanna's playfulness.

"Oh, _totally _cute_. _Fine, I'll be your date," Paige said with a chuckle, hearing Hanna squeak in excitement on the other end of the phone. "But no set ups."

* * *

Emily sat on the bleachers, watching as Coach Fulton put the girls through their paces. She had been given the task of noting down the times, happy to be given the chance to sit back and observe for the day. Emily had found herself particularly impressed with Caitlin McCullers, the girl far faster than she had been when she was her age. Of course whenever she looked at Caitlin her mind would flit back to Paige. Realising she really shouldn't, but unable to help herself, she took out her phone, Caitlin's good showing so early in the program the perfect excuse to talk to the girls older sister. Checking that she wasn't about to miss anything important, content to see Coach Fulton talking to the girls at the edge of the water, she brought up Paige's number and tapped out a quick message.

**_You forgot to mention your sister was so good in the water - Em _**

Emily frowned as she looked down at the message she'd just sent. What had she even meant by it? Paige had mentioned her Father was once a swim coach out at the lake the weekend before, it shouldn't be a surprise to Emily that Caitlin was skilled. She didn't have time to dwell on her thoughts as she felt her phone buzz.

**_She learned from the best obviously ;) - Paige_**

She laughed lightly, able to picture the cocky look on the other girls face as she had typed out her reply. Glancing over at Fulton once again to see that there was still no activity in the pool, she tapped out a quick reply.

**_How modest :P you swim competitively? - Em_**

She tapped her phone nervously on her thigh, slightly giddy that she was getting to know a little more about Paige.

**_Only in High School, had to give it up. Wasn't fair on the competition you see - Paige_**

Emily tried to stifle a laugh, wondering what the real reason Paige had stopped swimming was but deciding it probably wasn't her place to ask. Biting her lip in contemplation, she typed out her next message, quickly pressing send before she had time to over think it too much.

**_Are you picking Caitlin up today? Maybe I'll get to see you while you're waiting? - Em_**

It wasn't wrong if she wanted to talk to Paige, right? After all, she did have to wait around until all the girls had made their way home before she could leave, she could at least spend her time waiting talking to a friendly face.

**_See you after practice Coach - Paige_**

She smiled nervously as she looked at the message, wondering why the prospect of seeing Paige excited her so much. She told herself adamantly that it had absolutely nothing to do what she had deduced with Aria a few nights earlier. This was not a crush thing. She wanted to see her _friend _Paige. Which was perfectly acceptable. She was brought out of her thoughts as she heard a throat clearing, looking up to find Coach Fulton looking at her expectantly, Emily blushing with embarrassment as she realised she'd been caught slacking off. Slipping her phone back into her pocket, she focused her attention back on the pool.

* * *

Paige felt slightly ridiculous as she sat waiting on the wall outside of the natatorium, looking down over her outfit. It was nothing special, a simple shirt and jeans; what she knew was ridiculous was the amount of time she had spent getting ready for what could only be a brief conversation with a girl she knew wouldn't even be giving a second thought about what she was wearing at all.

"Hi," she heard from beside her, Emily hopping up to sit beside Paige on the wall, looking at the other girl with a warm smile.

"Hi," Paige said, returning the smile, before dipping her head slightly to hide a blush. It had barely even been a minute and already Paige could feel Emily having an effect on her. Once again she felt ridiculous.

"So, did you really swim in High School?" Emily asked, turning so she and Paige were facing each other slightly.

"Yeah, not at Rosewood, but yeah," Paige nodded. She was supposed to attend Rosewood High, her Dad sending her to private school in Philadelphia at the last-minute.

"I swam for Rosewood," Emily said, Paige nodding with a smile. "Then for Pittsburgh,"

"I probably went up against you, we went up against Rosewood tons of times," Paige said, wondering how it was that she couldn't remember Emily Fields, looking at the girl next to her she figured it would be impossible to forget her once she had laid eyes on her. It was certainly the case now. "Never swam in college though."

"Can I ask you why?" Emily asked shyly, noting the slight sadness that had crept into Paige's voice as she had spoken. "Injury?"

"No, nothing like that," Paige said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. Looking at Emily, and deciding that the other girl wasn't the type to judge, she decided to open up. "I was meant to go to Stanford, full scholarship. But I got into some trouble…a lot of trouble actually, and my offer got retracted. So I ended up at Pittsburgh instead. Sans swimming."

"But only for a year?" Emily said, one of the few things she could remember from the first night they met. "I don't think I ever saw you around campus, I feel like I would remember you,"

"I was at the business school," Paige said, Emily nodding in understanding. "But it wasn't for me, more my Dad's thing, so I dropped out, much to his disappointment, and that's how I ended up bumming around the country."

"I'm quite jealous of you actually," Emily began, shaking her head slightly with a nervous laugh as she saw Paige look at her like she had grown another head. "Just going wherever you wanted to, whenever you wanted to? I wish I could do that."

"You could," Paige shrugged, biting her tongue as she remembered the last time she tried to tell Emily to just go for it. She wanted to say _you should. _To tell her that sometimes the reasons we have for not doing something are not as powerful as they seem. To let her know it's daunting for a moment, until you go, then all the worry seems ridiculous afterward. She watched as Emily gave her a knowing look, nodding her head slightly in agreement, realising she didn't need to say anything after all, a heavy silence settling over the two of them; Paige thinking about where she had been, Emily thinking about where she could go.

"Stay still a second," Emily said breaking the silence, Paige raising and eyebrow in curiosity as the other girl scooted closer to her. "You have a bug in your hair…" Emily said, reaching forward to gently knock it away, her hand lingering, Paige's hair soft to the touch. She was unable to stop herself from brushing the stray strand of hair behind Paige's ear, her thumb gently stroking the other girls cheek as she finished. She felt Paige's thumb shifting to gently brush against her knee, their eyes meeting briefly before Emily dropped her hand, coming to her senses and standing abruptly.

"It was good to see you Paige, I should really get back inside," Emily said, giving Paige a small wave and turning to walk back to the entrance.

"Emily, wait…" Paige began, the other girl spinning around to face her with an expectant look on her face, Paige starting to say something then stopping as she noticed Caitlin was making her way towards them. "It was good to see you too. As always_. _Same time tomorrow?"

Emily shook her head slightly, dropping her gaze to the floor in front of her. Was saying yes a good idea? No. Did she have the willpower to decline? No.

"Tomorrow." Emily said with a small smile coupled with a small nod, before turning and making her way back to the natatorium, nodding to Caitlin in acknowledgement as they passed each other by.


	4. Chapter 4

_This took me so much longer than I thought it would to write. It's an extra long update so I hope that makes up for the wait. Thank you for all the amazing feedback on the previous chapter, I really appreciate it. So glad so many people seem to be enjoying this, I love hearing everybody's thoughts and theories. I'm a little unsure about this chapter, mainly Emily and especially the ending, so do let me know what you think._

* * *

**_Chapter 4: Cracks_**

Emily was beginning to regret giving in to her desire to see Paige.

Just over 2 weeks in and Emily had settled into her routine; driving for an hour to arrive at the school in the morning, setting up, running warm up drills, team-building exercises, races. Then almost every day, she would glance at the clock and smile as it got to 3pm, because at 3.15 she would make her way outside, and Paige would be waiting for her. Every day since she had suggested it the week before, they would meet outside the natatorium.

It had started innocently enough. They did nothing but talk. About anything and everything. The more time they spent together, the more she felt herself opening up to Paige, an openness that she hadn't been entirely comfortable with for a long time beforehand. They talked about Emily's past, her hopes for the future, Paige's family, her friends, Paige's life outside of Pennsylvania. About nothing; the silences they shared were becoming more and more comfortable the more afternoons they spent together. She had just under 2 weeks left of coaching, which she had began to refer to in her mind as nine more afternoons with Paige.

They were beginning to become the best part of her day. And on the one hand she would tell herself it didn't matter, it meant nothing, that it would eventually come to an end and that would be okay. That Paige was just a friend, a passing acquaintance that she saw now and then because of _Caitlin_. But on the other hand, on the days where she felt like being a little more honest with herself, she would admit the truth; that she was merely tricking herself into believing there was nothing more to it. That sure, it was perfectly acceptable to appreciate a _friends _appearance, but when it came to Paige she wasn't admiring, she was borderline leering. Her eyes would linger far longer than they should on exposed areas of skin, Paige's mouth as she spoke, her eyes when she smiled. She admitted to herself that she did in fact notice the way her breath would catch ever so slightly if Paige leaned in a little closer, along with the ever-increasing effort she had to make to stop herself from reaching out for the girl.

She had to accept it; she was becoming increasingly attracted to Paige McCullers. And the worst part was she couldn't bring herself to stop. Stop seeing the other girl, stop wanting the other girl. She knew that by meeting Paige outside the natatorium, talking briefly under the guise of waiting for the girls sister to change and leave, she was pretending that she wasn't doing anything wrong. Telling herself that she didn't have to feel guilty. Guilty that she talked about more with Paige in the brief conversations they shared than she did with Ellie during entire weekends together. Guilty that she was trying to find a reason to keep doing this, _seeing Paige, _once she could no longer use swimming or Caitlin as an excuse.

She didn't know what scared her more. To keep seeing Paige or to stop seeing Paige. All she knew was that she was drawn to the girl, and she hadn't quite figured out why.

"Emily?" she heard Paige say, pulling her out of the daze she'd settled into for who knows how long. She couldn't remember what they had been talking about, smiling sheepishly as she met Paige's gaze, the auburn haired girl smirking back at her. "Where did you go just then?"

"I was just…" Emily began, failing to think of a plausible excuse about why she had spaced out. _'I was just thinking about the magnitude of ways in which we could begin a sordid sex affair' _didn't really seem appropriate. "Never mind."

"Alright," Paige shrugged, turning her attention back to the entrance of the natatorium.

"Caitlin broke her own record today." Emily said, deciding to try to settle back into general conversation and shake the inappropriate thoughts from her mind.

"That's great," Paige said with a genuine smile, her eyes once again trailing over to the exit, watching as a few of the girls made their way out into the lot.

"Do you miss it?" Emily asked out of nowhere, Paige turning back to her in surprise.

"Swimming?" She asked to clarify, Emily nodding silently in response. "That's a tough question."

"It is?" Emily asked quirking an eyebrow.

"Swimming competitively…yes and no. I sort of used to live for it. My dad was pretty hard on me. Made sure I was the best. And I was. And I won, a lot. I guess, after a while…it stopped feeling good. Wanting nothing more than to win. I mean, I do kinda wish I hadn't of screwed up my scholarship but…I can't say I miss races." Emily nodded slowly in understanding. She had always been told when she was growing up to do her best and that that would always be good enough. She was lucky in a way that her best more often than not was better than good enough. Paige began smiling softly as she continued. "Swimming for myself, just because, _that_ is what I miss. I don't get to do it as often as I'd like."

"Do you want to do it sometime?" Emily asked, the idea popping into her mind. A way to see Paige outside of the parking lot. "Swim, I mean. I lock up here most nights…we could stay behind one night, you can show me how good you are?"

"Yeah," Paige said, a slight flush creeping over her cheeks as she thought about it. Late night swimming with Emily Fields. "I'd really like that."

"If you're not busy tonight we could…" Emily said with a nervous smile, the smile fading as she wondered if that would really be a good idea. She missed swimming herself, she had to admit, deciding that it would be nice to swim with someone again. "Are you free around 8?"

"Sure," Paige smiled softly, before her face became slightly more serious. "Um, Em?" she asked, glancing back over to the High School, making sure she still had plenty time. "I'm about to, well I'm thinking about doing something _way _out of line with you right now, so, don't get mad at me okay?"

"What?" Emily said, her eyes snapping to the girl beside her. Paige was thinking about doing something way out of line with her? Her mind wandered to a number of less than appropriate possibilities before she watched Paige reaching into her bag and handing Emily a booklet.

"Take this, don't get mad, forgive me, and lets mention it no more."

"A prospectus for UCSF?" Emily asked in confusion, before letting out a sigh as she realised what Paige was once again trying to tell her.

"It's one of the top 5 Med schools in the country, just below Penn, so if you…I know you have your reasons for going to Penn, but if you did decide to go for it, it's not a step down," Paige said hurriedly, watching Emily's mouth opening in protest. "You think you hide it well. But you don't. Whenever you've mentioned going to Penn your face does this…weird scrunchy thing, it's like a frown but not even…anyway that's besides the point. I know your reasons are _strong _reasons. But whenever you talk about heading out here," Paige said, tapping the booklet in Emily's hands. "Your whole face lights up. Anyway I've already admitted to being way out of line here, I just don't want you to end up regretting something you didn't do. I know what that feels like, and where it can lead you. Know that you always have the option, it took me _far _too long to figure that out. Now let's pretend I never gave you that okay?"

Emily looked at Paige in astonishment, not really knowing how to feel about what the girl had just given her. Should she be mad at Paige for what she was suggesting? She remembered, at least remembered being told that she had divulged her dreams of Med School in California the first night the two had met, and she had fleetingly mentioned it on a few occasions when they met out here as well. Not to mention the amount of times she had told Paige how jealous she was of how much the other girl had travelled, she herself having scarcely left Pennsylvania. She could see why Paige would get the impression she wanted to go. And if she had learnt anything about Paige, it was that the other girl would do anything, however seemingly inappropriate, if she thought she was helping someone.

"Thank you," Emily said with a small smile, reaching over to give Paige's hand a quick squeeze. She let it linger there for a moment, before looking at Paige in contemplation. "How is it you know so much about what I want, yet I know nothing about what you want?"

"What do you mean?" Paige asked as Emily pulled her hand away.

"You seemed to pick up on my…hesitancy to go to Penn Medicine instantly, yet…you don't really give much away when it comes to yourself. The things you want," Emily said, looking at Paige as if she was trying to see into her. "I know _where _you've been. But you've never mentioned why. Why you went. Why you stopped swimming. Why you're back. Why you would want to help me. Where it is you want to go."

"Its not…intentional," Paige said with a shrug, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. She wasn't trying to be intentionally 'mysterious' - the things that Emily had mentioned were either too hurtful to bring up, or, as far as Paige was concerned, somewhat irrelevant. "You could always just ask me?"

"I could," Emily nodded, before shaking her head at herself as she stood. "Or maybe _that's it_, why I like you so much. Maybe I like the mystery."

Paige watched as Emily stood, unable to read the expression on the other girls face. It was a smile, she knew that much, but what kind of smile, she couldn't tell. With a small nod she watched as Emily walked back into the High School, leaving her outside to wait alone, now thoroughly confused about what on earth had just been said.

* * *

"That sounds like a terrible idea."

Paige stopped rustling through her closet and looked over at Dawn, knowing deep down that her friend was probably right. Late night swimming with the object of her affections, the _unattainable _object of her affections she reminded herself, in a dimly lit pool, in bathing suits? Dawn was right. This was a terrible idea. Paige wasn't willing to admit that to her friend, the other girl already self-assured enough as it was. "It's just a swim. I told you I don't…"

"Like her, I know." Dawn said with a roll of her eyes. "And I'm the virgin Mary. Paige, what are you doing with this girl?"

"Nothing," Paige whined, slumping down onto her bed with a groan.

"You'll end up getting hurt P," Dawn said, taking a seat beside her.

"You're the one that told me to call her!" Paige sighed exasperatedly.

"When I thought she was single," Dawn corrected her. "I don't want you to end up being her bit on the side, It's not hard to tell you really like her."

"I'm not going to. I wouldn't cross the line like that, and she definitely wouldn't even if she wanted to, which she doesn't," Paige said matter-of-factly, watching Dawn look on in disbelief.

"I need to have words with this girl," Dawn said, Paige's eyes popping out of her head in dismay. "I'm sorry P, but it's obvious to everyone and their blind Nana that you have a thing for her, and I bet she knows it too."

"We're friends. That's all. I'm _not _falling for her." Paige said confidently, though she felt anything but inside.

"You're wearing a one-piece?" Dawn asked as Paige pulled out her old bathing suit, Paige simply nodding in confusion. "Just because you're 'just friends' doesn't mean you can't remind her what she's missing out on, pull out the bikini!"

"Seriously?" Paige said incredulously, ignoring her roommates suggestion.

"Just trying to help," Dawn shrugged. "How serious is she about this girlfriend anyway? Why is she spending her night swimming with you instead of squeezing up to her honey?"

"Serious, they've been together for like 4 years? Since she started college." Paige replied with a shrug, praying to god her roommate wasn't about to suggest a plan to break up Emily and Ellie.

"Tragic," Dawn said simply, Paige looking at her once again in confusion. "Four years? She's like…22 at the oldest right? I can't imagine spending my college years cozying up to the same person every night."

"You didn't go to college."

"Whatever. Just get over it yeah? She's a lost cause," Dawn said bluntly, Paige nodding in agreement. She had to stop lusting after Emily after tonight. Regardless of who she was meeting, she was still slightly giddy to get back in the pool once again. "Any luck on the job front?"

"Not this week no…" Paige said with an apologetic smile. She had been living on reserves since she had moved in a month ago, and those reserves were now running low. "Something will come up soon though, I know it will."

"Have you given anymore thought to asking your Dad?" Dawn said cautiously, Paige sighing at the idea. Asking her Father for a job was her very _very _last resort.

"I can't. I promise, I'll get something soon okay?" Paige said, picking up her bag and checking her watch anxiously. It was time to set off.

"So you're not going with the bikini?" She rolled her eyes, waving her roommate off and heading for the door.

* * *

Emily took a break, resting her elbows against the pools edge as she watched Paige swim. They had done a few playful races, before settling into to lazy laps. At some point before she had slowed down she felt Paige's intensity beginning to pick up, looking out now to see the girl was powering through the water. Paige was good, Emily had to admit. Really good. Slowing slightly, obviously realising that Emily had stopped, she watched as Paige came to a halt, wading over until she was paddling a few feet in front of her in the water.

"You're pretty good," Emily said smirking, rolling her eyes slightly at the cocky grin that came across the other girls face.

"I told you," Paige began, swimming closer. "Caitlin takes after the best."

"She certainly reminds me of you," Emily said in response, watching as Paige dropped her gaze and moved from her spot in front of her, resting her elbows on the pools edge much like Emily was doing, beginning to slowly tread water beside her. " I know I said I liked the mystery but…can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why did you stop swimming? I mean I know you said you lost your scholarship, and that competitive swimming didn't do it for you its just…you're good Paige. Really good." Emily watched as Paige once again let her gaze drop, a sad sigh escaping her lips. "I'm sorry if that was too personal…"

"No, its okay," Paige said, looking up and giving Emily the best smile she could muster. She had never really told anyone her reasons why, the memory not one she was fond of. "I didn't want to. Stop that is. I had a full ride, and couldn't wait to go, but…"

"Paige, really, I shouldn't have asked," Emily said, realising the girl beside her was struggling to say what she needed to say.

"Really it's fine just…" Paige began, her voice small and vulnerable. "Don't let it change the way you think about me okay?" Emily shook her head, scooting a little closer to Paige, taking her hand to offer some assurance that she was their to listen, not to judge.

"When I was in High School, I wasn't having the best time at home. My Dad was…overbearing to say the least. He had always been a little...heavy-handed if I acted out." Emily's brow furrowed at Paige's words, wondering what exactly she meant by heavy handed, but bit back anymore questions, allowing Paige to continue. "It was around about the time he'd found out I was gay, and things got worse and worse, fights, kicking me out all the time…I'm really lucky Evan was too young to remember. Caitlin obviously…she's a little trickier."

"What do you mean by heavy-handed?" Emily asked, watching as Paige dropped her gaze to the water.

"He never hit us, walls, furniture, never us. Anyway, this one night, I was heading out with my girlfriend at the time, and he wasn't having it. He tried to stop me and as always things got a little out of hand, but I managed to get out. I got pretty wasted, and when I got home that night…"

"Paige?" Emily asked softly, reaching out to the other girl in concern when her words stilled.

"I was really drunk. And really angry. At myself, more than anyone. For being gay…whatever. When I got home that night, my Mom was at the door and she had this shiner on her right eye…and I knew he had done something. That she had tried to make him go easy on me and he'd finally snapped and lashed out at her. So I lost it. He came down to the porch yelling at me and she tried to pull him back, and when he went for her again I just lost it. I can't remember exactly what I hit him with, maybe a bottle? I don't know how many times I did but I hit him." Paige stopped, realising she had started to tear up at some point, quickly pulling her hand away from Emily to push the heels of her hands to her eyes. Letting out a shaky breath she continued. "The neighbours reported a disturbance, and when the police showed up, he got me taken away. My Mom denied that anything had happened to her, but he made sure that I got charged with assault. Once Stanford heard that I had a juvenile record, I didn't have my scholarship anymore. Which suited my Dad perfectly, because all he'd ever wanted was for me to go to Pittsburgh Business like him. My Mom made me promise to get some anger management, and that he would do the same. But not before he made it clear in no uncertain terms that Pittsburgh was where I was heading in the fall."

_"Paige,"_ Emily said softly, moving in front of the other girl, brushing away the stray tears that had made their way down Paige's cheeks.

"Sorry," Paige began, pulling away from Emily's touch once again. "That got a little…dramatic."

"I'm sorry, If I had've known how much it would upset you…"

"No, don't," Paige said, managing a small smile. "I've never really talked about it to anyone. It's nice to actually open up once in a while."

"You dropped out anyway? At Pittsburgh." Emily asked, watching Paige nod her head slowly.

"Living just to make other people happy is pointless," Paige shrugged. "If I wanted to go to California, I could, so I did. And everywhere in-between. He had to realise at some point that if it was living my life or living his…I was always going to pick me. That's pretty much why I'm back. To help my Mom while he's sick but mostly to make sure Cait and Evan are safe and know that they can think for themselves. That's why I'm always telling you to go for Cali…theres nothing worse than being somewhere when your heart isn't 100% in it, thinking about what ifs."

Emily couldn't really think of the right words to say, slightly overwhelmed by how open Paige was being with her. Without really thinking she swam forward once again, engulfing the other girl into a hug. Paige stiffened slightly in shock at the action, before bringing up her arms to return the embrace. It felt good. Having Emily holding her tightly, feeling the other girl pressed flush against her.

"Thank you," Emily said as she pulled back slightly, though her arms were still resting on Paige's shoulders. "For trusting me enough to share that with me. And that didn't make me think any less of you," Emily said, biting her lip slightly before continuing. "Quite the opposite actually. The more I find out about you…the more wonderful I think you are."

Paige's breath hitched slightly at Emily's words, trying not to read too much into them, feeling the other girl stroking the tops of her arms soothingly. Her gaze became fixed on the other girls lips, the urge to just lean forward and capture them with her own swelling up inside of her.

"I should get going," Paige said coming to her senses, turning to pull herself out of the water. She towelled herself off slightly before deciding against heading into the changing rooms, instead opting to pull her sweats on over her wet suit, quickly followed by her sweater. "Thanks for the swim Em, it was nice to get back in the pool."

"Anytime," Emily smiled as she pulled herself out of the water. "We should do this again."

"Of course," Paige said, picking up her bag and shoving her hands in her pockets. She smiled sadly as she realised that she had been wrong earlier that day talking to Dawn, she _was _falling for Emily Fields, and she knew she had to stop.

* * *

"Ellie?"

"In here babe!" She followed the other girls voice down the hallway, peeking into the bedroom to see Ellie straightening out the sheets on her bed. She smiled softly as Emily walked into the room, walking over to pull the other girl into a hungry kiss. Emily smiled into the kiss, pulling away to drop her bag on Ellie's desk, before flopping down onto the bed. Coaching all day followed by swimming with Paige had left her exhausted, not to mention her mind was once again swimming with confusion and thoughts of the other girl. She felt Ellie lay down beside her, trailing soft kisses down her neck. Emily closed her eyes for a moment, allowing herself to take in both the familiar feeling and the surroundings of the room she knew so well, trying to calm her mind.

When she had first moved to Pittsburgh, it had been a great relief to leave Rosewood behind. Her High School years had been hectic to say the least; as if figuring out her sexuality hadn't been hard enough, she and her friends had found themselves dragged into a world of trouble after the murder of their close friend, along with the ensuing investigation. It tore them all apart in more ways than one, taking its toll on each and every relationship they had. So when Ellie came into the picture, Emily had been pleasantly surprised and happy to finally have a structure in her life after it had been missing for so long. Ellie had been attentive. Forward. Knew what she wanted, and offered Emily a security she had never had before. Unlike in High School, she was able to take Ellie home to her parents knowing that they would wholeheartedly approve. Ellie was safe. She could finally plan a future with someone, without fear of it being torn away.

So the unease she felt when she thought about that future now was beginning to grate on her. What was it since graduating college, Emily wondered, that had taken away the comfort Ellie had once offered her? When had she changed her mind, was it a sudden desire that had overtaken her when she thought about finally leaving Pennsylvania, or was it what she believed was at least partially true, that she had been planning it long before graduation?

"Um, babe?" Emily heard Ellie say, brought out of her thoughts as she looked down to see her girlfriend staring back up at her, placing one last kiss to her exposed stomach before making her way back up to hover over Emily, who was now blushing as she realised she had drifted off into thought when things had got considerably heated. "You don't really seem into this?"

"Sorry," Emily said sheepishly, kneeling back on the bed as she watched Ellie lay back with a sigh. "I'm just not…"

"In the mood." Ellie answered for her despondently. Emily offered the girl an apologetic smile. More often than either would have liked lately, they had struggled to catch each other _in the mood. _

"It's not that...I'm sorry," Emily said once again, tugging Ellie up so that they were sitting face to face, kissing her girlfriend softly. "I just…keep thinking."

"About what?"

"You love me right?" Emily asked, watching Ellie roll her eyes affectionately, the blonde leaning in to kiss her chastely.

"Of course I do."

"Would you…" Emily began, faltering slightly as she thought about what she wanted to ask. "Would you say you'd do anything for me?"

"What is it Emy?" Ellie asked, her face scrunching up in confusion.

"If I asked you to move away with me, would you do it?" Emily asked apprehensively.

"Move away?" Ellie asked in confusion once again, watching Emily walk over to her bag, pulling out the prospectus Paige had given her and placing it on the bed between them as she sat back down. "UCSF?"

"If I got in, would you consider coming with me to California?" Emily asked, Ellie looking back at her in astonishment, her face softening as she realised Emily was deadly serious.

"You're seriously considering this?" Ellie asked incredulously.

"I am," Emily said confidently, finally admitting to Ellie and herself that she had been thinking about this for a while. "I have too many far from pleasant memories here, this…this could be the fresh start I've always wanted. This…this is my dream."

"It's a little…out of the blue," Ellie said, still in surprise. "A few weeks ago you wanted to defer and go travelling, are you sure this isn't just another whim?"

"I…think I might really want this," Emily said, undeterred by Ellie's apprehension. "If I got in, if I actually did this, would you go with me?"

"Emily, you're asking me to move to the other side of the country for you."

"For _us." _Emily said, correcting the other girl. "I'm not saying right now, I'd still defer for a year, save up, plan it out before actually going out there. Give you time to find a job..."

"Emy," Ellie said softly, reaching out to take her girlfriends hands. "It's a nice idea, but let's be real, that's all it is."

"It doesn't have to be," Emily said pulling away. "Would you think about it? Please?"

"Emily, it's a lot to ask," Ellie repeated her words from earlier, standing up and leaning against her dresser. "I love you, but we both have to admit it's pretty unlikely. We should probably spend less time focusing on pipe dreams and more time focusing on the state of our relationship as it is now."

"The state of our relationship?"

"We never see each other. And when we do, we're more than likely having an early night. Without sex. We haven't slept together for a _month_ Em." Ellie said pointedly, Emily's eyes widening slightly as she realised what Ellie was so bothered by.

"You're always either tired from work…or…I hadn't noticed, I'm sorry," Emily said with a sigh.

"It's not just that, I just…I feel like you're spending more time daydreaming about places like this," Ellie said lifting up the UCSF brochure, "Or with your friends. Or swimming. And that's great, that you have those things I just wish…you'd focus on me now and then."

Emily was slightly taken aback by Ellie's words. Sure, they hadn't found much time for physical intimacy lately. The more she thought about it, the more she realised perhaps Ellie was right. She'd spent more and more time at home since Hanna had started staying with them, focusing a lot of her attention on rebuilding the closeness they had once shared. Swim camp was keeping her busy most weekdays…and then of course there was Paige. The amount of time she spent thinking about, talking to, daydreaming of Paige. Looking up to see Ellie staring back at her the guilt hit her like a punch in the gut. She needed to refocus he attention on her relationship with Ellie, get to the bottom of the unease she was feeling and give their relationship the boost it needed. She had a plan. _They _had a plan. She couldn't be throwing that away because a girl she had a crush on had suggested she take a leap of faith. _She had to stop seeing Paige._

* * *

Paige checked her watch, frowning slightly as she saw the time. She had turned up early for Caitlin as usual, her happiness fading a little as time ticked by and she didn't see Emily emerging from the High School. Her mind flitted back to the day before, wondering whether she had said something wrong. She had felt like she was overstepping a boundary when she'd given Emily the prospectus, it felt a little like she was basically saying 'leave your girlfriend and move to California', but she hadn't meant for it to come across that way. When she'd found it in her apartment among boxes of Dawns junk, her mind had instantly flitted to Emily, then to the disappointment she herself had felt when she had ended up staying in Pennsylvania instead of heading to Stanford. She felt a little twinge of guilt as she realised she had probably been projecting her own regrets onto her new friend. Emily hadn't taken it badly, they had spent the night swimming together after all, and she had finally managed to talk to someone about her Father, Emily giving her the support she needed to open up. She tried to shrug off her unease as she cast her eyes to the entrance once again, still no sign of Emily.

As much as she tried to deny it, she knew her reasons for meeting the other girl here, like this, once again, went far further than a simple wish to gain or maintain Emily's friendship. After coming so close to kissing her the night before she had contemplated not turning up to meet Emily today, but hadn't been able to help herself. She knew better than to chase after lost causes, she'd fallen for straight girls before, but she had never dealt with someone who was taken. She felt slightly twisted; a bizarre sort of comfort came over her when she sat with Emily, even knowing that she could never act on her growing desire to just kiss the other girl, she felt a sick sort of excitement when she thought about how far she would allow herself to go, allow herself to fall, wondering silently whether she would be able to stop herself before it was too late and she was too far gone.

"Paige?" she heard Caitlin say, realising that she'd spaced out at some point.

"Hey, you're early," Paige said with a smile hopping down off the wall and heading over to the car, taking one last look back at the exit.

"I'm on time," Caitlin said dryly, climbing into the passenger side of the car as Paige climbed in beside her.

"Good swim?" Paige asked, looking over to see her sister wincing as she tugged on her seatbelt. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just hurt my side is all. Think it might be a little strain. No big." Paige eyed Caitlin suspiciously as she spoke, the other girl wincing once again.

"You should take it easy, do you think you need tomorrow off?"

"I can't miss a day," Caitlin said shaking her head vehemently.

"Are you overdoing it?" Paige asked knowingly. She had a strong suspicion Caitlin was probably spending her nights in her own pool at their Father's instance.

"No."

"Caitlin…I know what he's like remember?" Paige said, watching as Caitlin nodded her head in understanding.

"It happened last night, and today…I don't think I can swim tonight but if he thinks I'm injured…" Caitlin began fearfully, surprising Paige slightly, it wasn't like her sister to admit such things. "What are you doing?"

"Calling Mom," Paige said as she pulled out her phone.

"_Paige, _you'll just cause an argument…" Caitlin began, Paige waving off the younger girls protests. She didn't intend to complain to her Mother about her Father, she had a far subtler plan in mind. "Hey Mom…yeah were fine…I was just thinking, Cait and Ev should stay with me tonight, you and Dad could go out if he's feeling up to it, treat yourselves…"

"Why would we…" Caitlin began, Paige waving her off once again as she listened to her Mother giving in to the idea.

"Great! We'll see you in ten," Paige hung up grinning, turning to see her sister looking at her in confusion. "What? If you guys stay with me, then you can rest up without worrying about dad going off on you."

"And what if he just makes me work twice as hard tomorrow for slacking off today?" Caitlin asked pointedly.

"If it's still hurting tomorrow, get Emily…uh Coach Fields to take a look. She studied Sports injuries and what not, if it's bad she can I dunno…write you a note or something to excuse you this weekend, it's Friday tomorrow anyway, does he really make you do weekends?"

"Not always. I guess it's an ok idea. Is Dawn still a pain in the ass?"

"She is," Paige said with a chuckle, wondering whether she should have consulted with her roommate before showing up with her two siblings in tow for the night. "So, um, was Coach Fields not in today?"

"She was," Caitlin said with a wry smile. "You guys have a tiff or something?"

"A tiff_? _We're not _involved_ Caitlin," Paige shrugged, trying not to let her disappointment show. She now suspected Emily had intentionally avoided her and it stung to realise that.

"Uh huh, cut the crap Paige. I come out here every afternoon to find the two of you mooning over each other," Caitlin said with a sigh at the thought, rolling down her window to let in a breeze.

"She has a girlfriend, and we are just friends," Paige said matter-of-factly.

"Then stop looking at her like that, its pathetic," Caitlin shrugged.

"I don't look at her like anything," Paige said, her cheeks burning up slightly as she realised just how obvious it was that she was attracted to Emily. "Fine. maybe I think she's cute, big deal."

"You'll get hurt, and you promised not to anyway," the younger girl said pointedly, Paige sighing as she realised that was true. Dawn had told her as much earlier in the week and now her fifteen year old sister was attempting to talk some sense into her. She couldn't go on kidding herself. She had to stop thinking about Emily.

"I'm a big girl okay? I know nothing can happen with us," Paige said with a shrug, Caitlin simply rolling her eyes. "I even have a date tomorrow night, well, kind of."

"Oh really," Caitlin scoffed.

"Yes really," Paige said smirking. Perhaps meeting this Shana girl wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. At this point she was willing to do anything to stop her feelings for Emily becoming any stronger.

* * *

Emily huffed looking at her dress hanging on the back of the door, watching as Ellie hurried around the bedroom trying to get ready. She had opted to make her way to Ellie's place to change for Aria's party, making good on her promise to start 'participating' more in their relationship, only to be told that her girlfriend could no longer go with her.

"It's the head of the department Em," Ellie said, walking toward her and taking her hands in her own. "You know I would get out of it if I could, but this is really important to me, it could be the start of something big."

Emily let out another sigh, her mood, which hadn't been great to start with, worsening. She didn't want to let Aria and Ezra down, but she didn't really want to turn up to the party alone, especially saying as Hanna had decided she would now be bringing _Paige _of all people as her date. She'd spent the past two days ignoring the other girl in an attempt to get rid of any feelings she was developing for her. "I could go with you? I can be pretty charming you know."

"You've met Marshall before Em, you know he's not so hot about the whole gay thing."

"Right, the _gay _thing." Emily sighed. "So you'll be going with Jacob then I take it?"

"He's picking me up in twenty," Ellie said, fixing her make-up in the mirror. "We can drop you off on the way if you like?"

"I hate it," Emily said pointedly, Ellie stilling her movements slightly with a sigh. "You going out and acting like you and Jacob are together."

"But we're not," Ellie said matter-of-factly. "You know that. So it shouldn't matter if we have to do it for..."

"It does though, matter to me. And you know it. _Ellie_…" Emily said pleadingly, watching as her girlfriend took a breath before turning to face her. "I really wanted to be with you tonight. You said yourself we need to spend more time together."

"I want to be with you too babe," the blonde said, standing to kiss Emily lightly on the cheek. "But we'll just have to settle for tomorrow night instead. I'll get us some takeout, we can watch any movie you want. I promise, I'll be all yours, okay?"

"Are you happy?" Emily blurted out, not really knowing where the question had come from.

"What do you mean?" Ellie asked, moving back slightly to lean against her dresser.

"With us, I know we've decided we need to work on it, but are you actually happy?" Emily asked, sitting on the bed and lifting her gaze to meet her girlfriends eyes.

"I am," Ellie said, Emily clearly having taken her by surprise. "Emy I love you. Are you…are you not happy?"

"I don't know anymore," Emily said, her voice breaking slightly. "You were right yesterday. Lately…I just don't feel like we're the same as we used to be. We aren't…connecting like we used to."

"Emily?" Ellie said with concern, walking forward to kneel in front of Emily next to the bed. "Why are you bringing this up now? Is it because you're mad about Jacob?"

"It's because it's what I feel." Emily said bluntly, watching the worry as it crept over Ellie's face. "And I can't carry on pretending that everything is okay."

"Okay," Ellie said, her brow furrowing, reaching forward to take Emily's hands in her own. "We talked about this last night. I guess I've been busy with work and with you finishing up school…we haven't gotten to be with each other as much as we've wanted, and maybe it's taking its toll a little. But we've gotten through that in the past haven't we? We're working on that now aren't we?"

"We have…we are," Emily said softly, reaching forward to gently run her hand through Ellie's hair. "But I feel like maybe…maybe we want different things. And that's something we really need to talk about."

"Is this about California?" Ellie said in annoyance, her face softening as she looked over to Emily noticing the concern on her face. "Okay, we'll talk. Can it be tomorrow night? I have to get ready now or else I'll be late," Ellie said standing, before leaning over to Emily as she saw the other girl frown. "We'll talk. I promise. I love you Emy, I'll do anything to make us work."

"Okay," Emily said in acceptance, leaning forward to kiss Ellie softly, holding her for a moment before she felt her girlfriend pull away.

* * *

"Wow," Hanna said as she opened the door of the apartment, Paige standing in the doorway, hands stuffed into her pockets and a cocky grin plastered on her face. She was dressed in tailored slacks, a fitted blazer with a semi-sheer black shirt beneath it, all the while still managing to stay casual. "You scrub up well."

"Only the best for you Miss Marin," Paige chuckled, sticking out her arm for Hanna to take.

"You charmer," Hanna smirked, before motioning for Paige to come into the apartment. "I'm not ready yet."

"Typical," Paige said with a smirk, walking into the apartment, letting her eyes flit around the room. It was slightly smaller than the place she shared with Dawn, though this place felt far more like a home, personal touches here and there giving it a cosy feel. She sat on the couch, waiting patiently as Hanna rustled around in what she presumed was a bedroom down the hall. "So Emily and Spencer live here huh?" she asked as the blonde appeared, giving Hanna a playful wink as the other girl gave her a twirl. "You look lovely."

"Thank you," Hanna smirked. "Yeah, this is their place, sorry about the mess, that's all me. Spence is practically counting down the days until I leave,"

"They'll miss you when you go back, I'm sure of it." Paige said, Hanna nodding in agreement.

"I'll miss them too," Hanna said sadly for a moment, Paige knowing how much her friends really meant to her. "Thanks again for going with me to this thing, and if you change your mind I'm still willing to set you up,"

"I might just take you up on that offer," Paige said, Hanna turning to her in surprise.

"What changed your mind?" Hanna asked, trying her best to hide her giddiness now that she knew she could play matchmaker at the party.

"You were right the other week, about Emily. I do like her. And I realise now how ridiculous that is," Paige replied honestly, Hanna nodding in understanding. "I need to start focusing on girls who are, you know, _available._"

"Well, you look hot McCullers, I'm sure Shana will think so too," Hanna smiled.

"Just to clarify, she is single this time right?" Hanna simply rolled her eyes at Paige's dig, grabbing the keys off the table and linking their arms, allowing the other girl to lead her to the door.

* * *

Emily stood awkwardly by the doorway, looking into the large dining room of Aria's house, watching the people come and go. She had made small talk with a few familiar faces after she'd arrived, but couldn't seem to find Spencer anywhere. She had managed to catch Aria for a while, the shorter girl flitting around frantically to try to make sure everything was running smoothly. The house reminded her quite a bit of her parents place, unsurprisingly saying it was only a few blocks away. She made her way back into the kitchen to get herself a top up, smiling when she saw Hanna breeze into the kitchen as she poured herself a drink.

"Hey Em, looking good," Hanna smirked as she walked into the kitchen, picking up a glass of her own and proceeding to fill it.

"Hi," Emily said, happy to finally see a friendly face, happier still to see that Paige was nowhere in sight. Her delight was short-lived as she watched Paige sauntering into the kitchen. "Paige," Emily said taking in a breath, her attention focusing completely on the other girl as she made her way over to them. It amazed her how effortlessly Paige managed to look so stunning. "You look amazing."

"You look absolutely beautiful," Paige said as she came to stand beside the blonde, unable to tear her eyes way from Emily or stop the words from spilling out.

"And what about me?" Hanna said exasperatedly beside them, motioning to her dress. "I spent hours on this outfit."

"You look lovely Han," Emily chuckled, glancing nervously towards Paige, noticing the auburn haired girl was still staring at her outfit, the knowledge causing her to blush once again. She didn't seem angry about Emily's no-shows after practice the past two days, which she decided was also a good thing.

"_Okay,"_ Hanna said as she looked between the two of them, giving Paige a pointed stare as she noticed the way she was checking out Emily, turning back to find with surprise that Emily was doing exactly the same to Paige. "Where's Ellie? I haven't seen her yet,"

"I'm going to say Hi to Aria," Paige said, leaving at the mention of Ellie's name. For all she had come here determined _not _to think about Emily, seeing the other girl and her supposedly sickly sweet girlfriend wasn't something she could stomach, especially without even finishing her first drink.

"Ellie couldn't make it," Emily said distractedly as she watched Paige walk away. "Work thing."

"Shame," Hanna said, Emily rolling her eyes slightly when the girl didn't even attempt to hide her smile, giving her friend and unimpressed look. "Don't blame me for being happy that I can hang with you now without being an awkward third wheel."

"Whatever, isn't Paige supposed to be your date?" Emily said, following Hanna out of the kitchen and back into the dining room.

"Until I introduce her to Shana," Hanna smiled, the smile widening when she looked over to see that Paige had already been introduced to the girl, Aria standing in-between them. "Looks like Aria's already done that for me, you're in luck, I'm all yours."

Emily watched as Hanna turned to grin at her, offering her friend a quick smile before her eyes drifted over to where Paige was standing, watching as Aria walked away leaving the two girls talking. "You're setting Paige up with Shana?" Emily asked as she watched the two girls; Paige was smiling brightly as she spoke, Shana returning the smile with a hearty laugh, Emily wondering what it was that Paige had said that was so funny.

"Yeah, they look pretty hot together, don't you think?" Hanna said, clearly oblivious to the surge of jealousy washing over Emily in that moment. She cursed herself internally at the feeling. "Are you okay?" Hanna asked, looking at her friend curiously as she followed Emily's gaze, her eyes landing on Paige and Shana.

"I'm fine, I'm just upset Ellie couldn't make it that's all," Emily said as she watched Shana's eyes trail down over Paige's outfit, turning her back to the two of them and facing Hanna instead.

"If you say so," Hanna said sceptically, and Emily could tell she knew there was more to it.

"Lets get another drink," Emily sighed, tugging on Hanna's arm and dragging her back into the kitchen.

* * *

Paige was pleasantly surprised when Aria had introduced her to Shana. She hated set ups for the obvious reasons, so when she discovered Shana was both attractive _and _funny, she couldn't help but be pleased she had agreed to come to the party. She had been momentarily thrown when she had bumped into Emily, especially considering how beautiful she looked in her outfit, but was glad to have been introduced to Shana so early on. They had exchanged pleasantries with Aria until the other girl had not so subtly made excuses to walk away, leaving them on their own to get to know each other. They had stood exchanging small talk for a while, Paige learning that Shana, similar to herself, had just moved back to Rosewood after living elsewhere since graduation.

"I'm thinking this is a set-up," Shana said with a small smirk, taking a sip of her drink as they made their way to sit at the empty dining table, Paige feeling herself blush slightly at the way Shana's eyes raked over her. "If I'm honest with you, I'm not complaining."

"I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised," Paige said in agreement, allowing herself to take in the other girl. She didn't know why it surprised her so much, how attractive Shana was, Hanna after all did have great taste. "I usually hate set ups but…I'm glad I made the exception."

"Likewise," Shana smirked. "So, how do you know Aria?"

"Through Hanna really," Paige said with a smile, glancing across the room to see Hanna was still talking with Emily. "How about you?"

"We took the same music class at Hollis," Shana said, Paige settling back into her chair as the girl began talking about her interest in music, violin specifically, smiling as she heard the passion in Shana's voice. She caught Hanna giving her a sly thumbs up, nodding her head in thanks at her friend. Maybe set ups weren't so bad after all.

* * *

Emily's night was going from bad to worse. Her mood hadn't been great to start with, her conversation with Ellie still fresh in her mind, the unease she felt thinking about the current state of their relationship still settled deep in her chest. It hadn't helped to see Paige at the party, especially as Hanna had spent the past hour pointing out every time Shana would laugh at something Paige said, every time their hands would brush, every time they gave each other 'sex eyes' as Hanna so needlessly put it.

"Can we do something else?" Emily said taking a swig of her drink, beginning to feel a familiar wooziness as she finished off her fourth glass. "I didn't exactly come here to watch Paige chatting up _Shana," _she practically spat the girl's name out, Hanna raising an eyebrow at her tone.

"Sorry, I forgot you weren't too fond of Shana." It was true, the two had never clicked during High School. Emily had never exactly been able to pin point why exactly, settling on simple swim team rivalry as the most likely cause. If the two did hit it off like they very well seemed to be doing, being with Paige would become just another thing on a long list of reasons why Emily disliked Shana_. _"Wait a minute…are you…oh my god, you're jealous!"

"Shut up Hanna, I am not jealous," Emily scoffed, grabbing Hanna by the arm to pull them back into the kitchen, hastily pouring herself another drink.

"Bullshit, I saw they way the two of you were looking at each other when we got here," Hanna said folding her arms, looking her friend over. "Look at you! It's practically written all over your face."

"Hanna," Emily said warningly, "I'm upset Ellie couldn't make it tonight. You making me watch those two gushing over each other for the past hour hasn't helped."

"How long have you liked her?" Hanna persisted, ignoring Emily's excuses.

"I don't!" Emily said once again, Hanna simply rolling her eyes in response. "Ellie and I…I don't think were in the best place right now, and I'm upset. I'm worried about us. Sorry if I don't seem like I'm in the party mood, but I'm not interested in Paige okay?"

"Sorry," Hanna said sheepishly, giving Emily's arm a supportive squeeze. "I didn't realise. Want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Emily said, offering her friend a small smile. "Make me another cocktail?"

"Sure thing," Hanna said with a smile, squeezing Emily's arm one last time before setting about making up two drinks.

"Hey guys," Paige walked in with a smile on her face, picking up two glasses and browsing the beverage options available. "Having a good time?"

"I'm going to the bathroom," Emily said, taking her drink from Hanna and squeezing past the two of them.

"Did I say something wrong?" Paige asked in confusion, watching as Emily left the room, Hanna simply shrugging beside her. "Do you think Emily's ignoring me?"

"Why would she be ignoring you?" Hanna asked with a quirked eyebrow. Paige sighed as she realised explaining why she thought Emily was ignoring her, especially since Hanna didn't know about their daily meetings, would probably lead to more questions than answers. She mouthed a quick 'never mind', picking up the two drinks she had prepared and glancing out of the kitchen to see Shana waiting patiently for her return. "You guy's hitting it off?" Hanna smirked.

"You could say that," Paige said, biting her lip anxiously. "Thanks, for dragging me to this thing. Shana is actually pretty intriguing. You gonna be okay on your own? I'm kind of being a sucky date."

"Get yourself back over there," Hanna smiled, finding Paige's nervousness slightly adorable. "Emily will be back soon."

* * *

"Hey you," Emily looked along the hallway to see Paige approaching her, a soft smile on her face, hand shoved in her pockets. "Any reason you're standing alone up here and not downstairs at the party?"

"I needed a moment," Emily said, doing her best to keep her voice firm. "Why are you up here?"

"I figured the bathroom was up here?" Paige said, Emily nodding and pointing down the hallway at the bathroom door. She sighed as Paige didn't move past her, instead choosing to lean next to Emily on the wall. "Are you okay Em?"

"I'm fine Paige."

"You don't seem fine," Paige said, tilting her head slightly in concern. "Did I do something wrong? I mean…I feel like you've been avoiding me. If it was the whole prospectus thing..."

"You didn't do anything wrong Paige," Emily said sadly. It hadn't really occurred to her until now, seeing Paige looking at her with so much affection, what spending so much time together could have done to Paige. She could meet Paige when she wanted, entertain her crush on the other girl, then go home to her friends, her girlfriend, and think nothing more of it. But if Paige did like her, as she suspected, she realised deep down she could very well be stringing Paige along. For all she had marched out of the kitchen petulantly to avoid hearing Paige talking about Shana, disturbed by how jealous she had become, she knew she wasn't being fair to the other girl if that was the case. "Paige…"

"Is it because Ellie couldn't make it?"

"I don't really know," Emily said truthfully, watching as Paige scooted closer in concern, placing her hand on Emily's shoulder, her thumb stroking her arm soothingly.

"Come on Em, I know somethings bothering you."

"Ellie and I…we're in a rough patch I think," Emily said sadly, thinking back to the conversation between her and her girlfriend had earlier that day. "And yeah, I'm pretty bummed that she couldn't make it. But mostly I'm just…so confused. About what I want. And…ugh, I'm pretty drunk I think."

"Things will work out the way they're supposed to," Paige said in an attempt to comfort Emily, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze. "When I get back from the bathroom, we'll get you some water okay? I want you to remember getting home this time."

"Paige, do you like Shana?" Emily blurted out, shaking her head as she realised how ridiculous she had allowed herself to become. She felt like she was 15 years old all over again. She knew what was really bothering her at the party. Why, on some level things with Ellie didn't seem great right now. It stung to admit it. A part of her wanted Paige for herself.

"She seems nice…yeah I guess I do," Paige said, watching as Emily's face fell slightly, the other girl quickly recovering when she noticed Paige had caught her. "I like her but…" Paige stopped herself. Admitting to Emily that Shana was nice but wasn't _her _was not what she should be doing. It wasn't fair. On her, or on Shana, or on Emily for that matter. She moved away from the wall with a sigh, giving Emily a curt smile before moving past her to head to the bathroom.

"Paige wait," Emily said as she felt Paige move past her, spinning around to grab the other girls arm and pull her towards her. "You like me don't you?"

"Course I do," Paige said in confusion.

"No, I mean…you _like _me," Emily said, using Paige's arm to tug the other girl closer. "I know that you do."

"Em…" Paige said, trying to pull away but simply being tugged closer once again. "I did. I do. But don't worry, I know nothing can happen and I'm sure I'll get over it..."

"Paige I can't stop thinking about you," Emily cut her off, her words almost pained. "I don't know why…I'm so confused. Ever since I met you I just…want you. That's why I've avoided you. _I want you. _And seeing you with Shana…ugh."

Paige could do nothing but stand there, looking at her dumbstruck, _had she actually heard right? _Emily left the party because of her? Seeing her talking to a girl she barely knew? She was brought out of her thoughts as Emily slowly cupped her cheek, the pad of her thumb running softly over the skin there, before slowly her other hand came up to do the same on the other side. Paige felt unable to breathe as Emily began moving forward, watching as her eyelids fluttered closed, feeling her warm breath against her lips as she inched closer.

"Don't," Paige said, her voice almost a whisper, pulling back ever so slightly so that their lips didn't meet. She raised her arms to gently stroke Emily's forearms, looking at Emily and seeing the hazy confusion in the other girls eyes. Though she knew Emily was tipsy, she had a feeling that if they kissed this time Emily would remember it. "You'll regret doing that."

"Maybe if I kiss you, just once, I won't be so confused anymore," Emily said, Paige recognising the slight slur in the other girls voice as she watched Emily leaning forward once again, both girls startling as they heard a voice behind them.

"Am I interrupting something?"


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry this took so long, cliffhanger and all! To the anon asking about This Time; I do intend to continue it at some point, I have no idea when that will be however. Thank you so much for all the reviews/follows/favs. Always lovely to hear everyone's thoughts and know that people are still enjoying this story! Hopefully this update doesn't disappoint, I'm not feeling 100% happy with it, and it may seem a little paily-lite, but I promise it's all just setting up for the next chapter, which I'll hopefully have up by the end of the week. As always feedback is much appreciated :) _

**_Chapter 5: Changes_**

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Spencer…" Emily's hands dropped from Paige instantly, staggering slightly as she attempted to move away, her eyes widening at the sight of her friend at the end of the hall; Spencer stood with her arms crossed and her expression could only be described as unimpressed. Emily had begun to think Spencer hadn't even turned up to the party, though right now she couldn't say she was happy to discover her friend had. Emily opened her mouth to speak, only to close it again as she realised she didn't know where to begin.

"I was just looking for the bathroom," Paige stammered out, managing to find her voice quicker than Emily, though failing to dispel the tension that had settled over the three of them.

"Behind you," Spencer said sternly, pointing in the direction of the bathroom door. Emily felt Paige move from behind her, the corridor remaining silent until she heard the faint click of the bathroom door closing. Spencer was still glaring at Emily, before she sprang to life and promptly dragged her into one of the bedrooms, shutting the door firmly behind her.

"What was about to happen out there?"

"Nothing, nothing was happening," Emily said, perching on the end of the bed. Spencer was standing by the doorway, arms folded across her chest, the look on her face letting Emily know she was not in the mood for excuses. "I know it looks bad…" She began, her words catching in her throat as she thought back to just moments earlier in the corridor. _She was going to kiss Paige. _"Crap."

"Is there something going on between the two of you?" Spencer asked, watching as Emily ran a hand through her hair.

"No."

"Are you sure about that?" Spencer asked sensing Emily's hesitancy, Emily's eyes telling her all she needed to know. "How long has this been going on?"

"Nothing is going on! Nothing happened. Drop it Spence, there is _nothing _to talk about," Emily said coldly, Spencer simply glaring at her until she felt her resolve wavering. "I was only going to kiss her."

"_Only? _Do you kiss her often?" Spencer said incredulously, pacing around at the foot of the bed, her voice hard, Emily looking up and answering with a shake of her head. "Good! What on earth were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking…" Emily said, desperately trying to calm her mind, her head swimming with confusion as she tried to sort through her thoughts, not to mention the slight wooziness that remained from the drinks she had so eagerly consumed earlier that night. She knew trying to think of a solution to whatever kind of problem it was that she had landed herself with right now was probably fruitless while she felt like this.

"In case you don't remember, you have a _girlfriend. _A serious one at that." Spencer said, her voice firm.

"I know that!" Emily said almost pleadingly. Spencer yelling at her was not helping.

"What are you guys doing in here?" She looked up to find Hanna walking into the room, relaxing slightly now that the blonde could potentially act as a buffer between herself and Spencer. It didn't last long; Emily flinching as Spencer walked over to the door, slamming it shut behind Hanna. "Chill Spence…hey, where the hell have you been all night anyway?"

"We had dinner with my parents before coming here," Spencer said, waving off Hanna's question and turning back to Emily. "Pressing matter here; I caught Paige practically shoving her tongue down Emily's throat!"

"Spencer!" Emily said in disbelief, offering the same look to Hanna as she saw the blonde chuckling slightly. "She wasn't…nothing even…shut up."

"You were going to kiss her Emily." Spencer said pointedly.

"I knew it!" Hanna said almost giddily, Emily sinking her head into her hands.

"You know what? I was. And I wanted to. And I would have if you hadn't of…" Emily began exasperatedly, calming herself as she saw the disbelief on Spencer's face. She didn't want to shout at her friend, her anger relenting slightly as she realised what she was saying; she was after all implying she was about to cheat on her girlfriend without giving it a second thought. "So thank you…for helping me come to my senses before I made a huge mistake."

"Are you sure it would be a mistake?" Hanna asked offhandedly.

_"Hanna." _Spencer said warningly, before turning back to Emily. "Shut it down Emily, before somebody get's hurt."

"Spencer…"

"Just stop seeing her, it's not that hard!" Spencer exclaimed, Emily relenting.

"Look, it was a…moment of madness, nothing more," Emily began, standing up and trying her best to defuse the situation. She couldn't think about this now, couldn't explain to them feelings she didn't yet understand herself. "I'm going to go find Paige and explain that it was just…"

"Um, Emily," Hanna interrupted with a sympathetic smile. "Paige already left...with Shana. That's why I came looking for you."

Emily sank back onto the bed, unable to hide the disappointment she felt as Hanna finished speaking. Barely ten minutes ago Paige had told her that she did in fact feel something for her, but now she had left the party with another girl. Emily was taken aback by how much it stung, though she knew that deep down it didn't surprise her at all. She had after all spent the better part of the night shooting daggers at the back of Shana's head.

"Then I guess I'll just head home then," Emily said forlornly, standing up once again, Hanna squeezing her arm supportively.

"Emily? We are not done talking about this…" Spencer began.

"We are Spence," Hanna said, motioning purposely to Emily, trying to alert Spencer to the sadness that had overtaken their friend.

"Han, do you mind rooming with Spencer tonight? I kind of just want to be alone." Emily asked, glancing back as she opened the door.

"Sure Em," Hanna said, looking to Spencer in concern as they watched their friend leave.

* * *

She could hear the hushed voices outside of her bedroom door, her two friends obviously worrying about her. Emily had left the party in a hurry, feeling slightly foolish that she hadn't even bothered to wait for Hanna or Spencer before leaving; they did live together after all. After coming to her senses she had stumbled into a panic, thoroughly confused by every thought coursing through her mind. At the beginning of the night she had begged her girlfriend to go with her to the party, and less than two hours ago she was practically begging Paige to kiss her. Something was clearly amiss.

Changing into something more comfortable, she poured out a large glass of wine, settling into her bed and trying her best to think of a solution to whatever kind of problem it was that she had now landed herself with. What was she going to say to Paige? More importantly, when was she going to talk to Paige? When was she going to shut it down, as Spencer had so aptly put it. She contemplated waiting until Monday, if Paige actually turned up early after practice like she had done for the past few weeks. But then the more she thought about it, the less she believed she was strong enough to '_shut it down' _whilst Paige was staring back at her with her unmistakably beautiful, ever so expressive eyes. She pulled out her phone, deciding that in the grand scheme of things she couldn't really begin to feel any worse about the events of the night, and pulled up Paige's number.

**_I can't see you anymore. I'm so sorry Paige. - Emily_**

She winced as she pressed send, actually winced, realising how cowardly she was being. How she was wrong, _so wrong, _and sending that message had made her feel ten times worse. But now it was too late to change it.

"Shit, shit, shit…" she cursed, quickly dialling Paige's number, knowing she couldn't, _wouldn't _allow herself to leave it at that. The call went straight to voicemail, and at that moment her heart sank as she remembered that Paige had left the party with Shana, the thought leaving a sour taste in her mouth. Paige had rebuffed Emily's advances, went back to her, whatever Shana was, _blind date, _and left without giving Emily a second thought. The knowledge offered Emily no comfort, instead simply adding to her mounting unease.

"Em?" Hanna said, opening the door slowly and peeking her head inside. "I know you said you wanted to be alone but…well, I don't want you to be."

"It's okay Han, come in," Emily smiled at her friend, Hanna walking into the room and shutting the door with a soft click.

"So…Paige huh?" She said, Emily not failing to notice the small smile that Hanna was trying to suppress as she mentioned their mutual friend.

"This is all your fault," Emily joked with a sad smile, tugging back the covers and allowing Hanna to climb in beside her. "Why did you have to know her? Why did you have to tell her she was my type? Why is she so..."

"Damn cute?" Hanna said, finishing off Emily's sentence with a joke of her own, Emily's face falling at the thought. "Hey, you can't like her that much, you've only met her like, twice? Unless Spence is right; she seems to think you two have been doing it since the first night you met."

"I meet up with her after every practice," Emily admitted, Hanna's eyebrow quirking in surprise. She shook her head as she realised how that had sounded. "We aren't _doing it_. Her sister swims for Rosewood, she's in my sessions. I bumped into Paige a few times…I just wanted to know more about her. So we started meeting up while she waits for Caitlin, just to talk. We're getting…kind of close. Really close. And it's been confusing me, so seeing her with Shana…kind of took away my common sense for a second there."

"Wow," was all Hanna said in response. "So…you actually _really _like her?"

"I do," Emily sighed, too tired and too inebriated to care about what that may mean or what Hanna would think. "But I'm with Ellie and she hit it off with Shana so…"

"Not so!" Hanna said, her insistence startling Emily slightly, Hanna shrugging sheepishly as she realised how shrill she sounded. "I just mean, Paige doesn't even _know_ Shana…It's you she likes Em, she _really_ likes you. And you really like her, I can see it."

"It doesn't matter," Emily said sadly. "It's not going to go anywhere. it can't. If I keep seeing Paige, I'll hurt her. I'll hurt Ellie…she wants us to work things out Han. Spencer's right I need to..."

"You need to figure out what it is you want, _for you_," Hanna said pointedly. "Because right now all you're doing is hurting yourself. It doesn't have to mean choosing to be with Ellie, or choosing Paige. It can just be you deciding to do you for a while if that's what feels right."

Emily nodded at Hanna's words, she knew her friend was right and was happy that she had ignored Emily's request for time alone. She needed to make her mind up, about everything that was confusing her right now. Her feelings for Paige, her relationship with Ellie, and what she was going to do once the summer ended. Rolling over and burying herself in her friends arms, she managed a small smile. There was one thing she could be thankful for this evening. "I'm really glad you're here Hanna."

* * *

Paige sighed glancing over to the clock, not bothering to hide the groan that escaped her lips when the hands didn't seem to have moved a millimetre since the last time she had checked the time. Somehow her Mom had roped her in to helping with the churches summer fair, giving her some guilt trip about missing so many when she had _'ran' _away as her Mother had decided to put it. She was trying her best not to let her boredom show, knowing her Mother rarely got the opportunity to spend so much time around her friends since her Dad had taken ill.

"Look alive Paige," she heard the older woman exclaim from behind her, groaning once again as she pulled herself to her feet, turning to see her Mom pointing excitedly to the influx of people entering the church hall. She couldn't help but smile at her Mom's excitement, happy to see a genuine smile on her face for a change. She had woken up surprisingly early considering the party the night before, spending the early morning baking at her parents house to prepare cakes for her Mothers stall.

When the crowds had died down a little, she checked her phone for possibly the hundredth time that morning, she wasn't exactly sure, frowning when she had no messages and contemplating, for also the hundredth time, whether or not to contact Emily. She knew the logical answer to that question was no; Emily had given her clear instructions to stay away the night before, and she wanted to respect that, it wasn't her intention to cause harm to the other girls relationship. The more selfish part of her was desperate to see the other girl, to find out if now that Emily was sober and had taken the time to think, whether or not she still wanted Paige as much as she had claimed to. She sighed, knowing deep down letting it go was the best course of action for both of them.

"Hey sucker!" Caitlin exclaimed with a grin popping up at the other side of the counter. "Give me one of those would you?" She smirked, pointing towards a cream cake.

"How come Mom isn't making you help out?" Paige said with a pout as she handed her sister the cake, trying her best not to sound too disgruntled, watching as Caitlin's grin simply widened.

"I'm doing a swimming thing at lunchtime."

"I call bullshit…" Paige said, her eyebrow raising questioningly.

"Don't tell," Caitlin said with a smirk, waving to her Mother sweetly before continuing. "I'm going into town with the guys…can I crash at your place later?"

"That depends, are you actually going to turn up or are you just going to tell Mom you're staying with me?" Paige asked in suspicion. Caitlin voluntarily suggesting she stayed with Paige smacked of something untoward. She watched the younger girl roll her eyes.

"I'm gonna show up," Caitlin said, Paige deciding that against her better judgement she would trust her sister this time round. She had felt the girl warming up to her substantially in the past few weeks, and from the sounds of it she had acted out less at home too. She gave her sister a small smile, watching as the girl walked over to their Mom, setting about telling her whatever lie it was that meant Caitlin had to stay with Paige that night.

"I didn't have you pegged as the church going type." Paige turned to see Shana smirking at her, smiling in surprise as she saw the familiar face. Though today she was wearing simple casual wear, Shana still looked as striking as she had done the night before.

"I'm here against my will," Paige replied, earning a slight chuckle from the other girl. "What brings you here today?"

"My aunt," she said, motioning to an older woman behind a stall on the opposite side of the hall, Paige recognising the woman from earlier that morning. "Thanks for giving me a ride last night by the way."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Paige smiled. When she had felt safe to come out of the bathroom, she'd been eager to leave the party, however cowardly it was. After their interaction in the hallway she was anxious to avoid Emily, or more truthfully Spencer and her death glares. It was the least she felt she could do to offer Shana a ride home, feeling slightly guilty for cutting their night short; before her run-in with Emily she had to admit the two of them were actually hitting off.

"So, did you make these?" Shana asked pointing to the various cakes on Paige's table.

"My Mom made most of them," Paige said pointing to her Mother who was on the other side of the room, talking animatedly with the pastor. "I do make a mean cake though. Can I interest you in anything?"

"Yeah, I think you can," Shana smirked making her way around the table so that she was standing closer to the other girl, giving Paige a quick once-over. "But it's not the cake I'm interested in."

* * *

Emily closed her eyes for a moment as she leant back on the couch, enjoying a moment's peace as her Mother rustled around in the kitchen. She had a dual purpose for visiting her parents today; not only was her Father leaving for Texas soon, Emily wanting to cram in as much time with him as possible, but he was also the only person she wanted reassurances from when it came to her insecurities about the future.

"No Ellie today?" he asked as he took a seat opposite her, handing her a cup of tea. It had been a long time since he was last home, so she knew he was bound to still be used to Emily and Ellie turning up together; Emily had made a habit of staying with her girlfriend when she returned home from college for the holidays.

"No," Emily answered simply. She hadn't spoken to the other girl since the night before, and didn't exactly want to spend what little time she had left with her Father complaining about her relationship problems. "She's busy."

"That's a shame," her Father said, before narrowing his eyes as he looked at his daughter. "Is something bothering you Emy?"

"Kind of," Emily nodded, placing her tea down on the coffee table and turning her full attention to her Dad. After spending the morning considering her options she had managed to come to a least one solid decision, and she wanted her parents approval before taking any action, though that didn't make her any less nervous when the time came to tell them. _Better now than never. _"I don't think I want to go to Penn Medicine this fall."

"Okay," he said sceptically, taking a moment to think it over. "And why is that? What's changed?"

"It just…doesn't feel right, right now," Emily said honestly. After mulling over her options, she had decided that it wasn't the right path for her, at least for the time being. "I want to defer my place, and figure out what it is that I really want to do, or where to go…or..."

"Okay."

"I'm not just going to drop out, I'm going to see if I can make my place at the High School more permanent, maybe find a placement in the city...and if not I'm sure I'll…wait you're okay with it?" Emily halted, looking up to see her Father smiling softly at her.

"If you think it's the right thing to do, then it's the right thing to do," he said simply, smiling bemusedly as he watched Emily's eyes widen.

"But you and Mom were so happy when I got in…"

"You let me handle your Mother, she'll understand," her Dad said, glancing back to the doorway. "Emy, we love you_. _Most of all we love you being _happy_, that's all that matters." he said with a soft smile. "Whatever you choose to do, we'll support you. We are proud of who you are, regardless of what you do, because I know no matter what you'll always be giving it your all."

* * *

Paige relaxed back into her chair, the stress from the church earlier that day ebbing away. Initially she was taken aback by Shana's blatant flirting, but had managed to pull herself together long enough to suggest the two of them head for a coffee as the fair had began to die down. Shana had been quick to accept Paige's invitation, and it was going well if Paige was to try to judge. Shana had suggested heading to the Brew; Paige noting that it was one of few changes to Rosewood since she had left, the two managing to find a table before the place got considerably busier as the working day drew to a close. For all her head had been swarming earlier that day with thoughts of Emily Fields, Shana showing up unexpectedly had become a welcome distraction and also a firm reminder that she shouldn't be thinking about Emily at all.

Shana was, as she had been at the party the night before, still charmingly witty; Paige and the dark-haired girl laughing over one of her stories. Paige had leant toward Shana ever so slightly, engrossed in their conversation, so she could have been forgiven for not noticing Hanna Marin was watching them intently, lips pursed, only noticing the other girls presence when she made it clearly known; plonking her bag down on their table a little firmer than was entirely necessary and smiling at the two of them as they pulled apart ever so slightly.

"Hi guys!" Hanna said with a wide smile, Paige looking at her in befuddlement, knowing full well there was something off about Hanna's apparent cheer. Shana seemed to have picked up on it also, but politely offered the blonde a quick hello. Hanna turned back to Paige after enough pleasantries were exchanged, the same faux-grin plastered on her face. "Could I be totally rude, and borrow Paige for a minute?"

"Sure," Shana said, raising her eyebrow to Paige sceptically, Paige simply shrugging apologetically before standing up and following Hanna, the blonde girl having made it halfway across the Brew already.

"What can I do for you Hanna?" Paige asked impatiently, crossing her arms as she stood in front of Hanna, the girl practically bouncing on her heels as she waited for Paige to let her speak.

"What the hell were you thinking last night Paige!" Hanna said, Paige's brow furrowing in confusion. As far as she was concerned, she had done a pretty good job of rejecting Emily's advances; though she did remember that Spencer probably hadn't seen it that way. "I set you up with Shana so you decide to make a move on Emily?"

"I think you'll find Emily made a move on me," Paige said matter-of-factly, watching Hanna's shoulders slumping slightly in confusion. "And _nothing _happened. Why are you here? I'm kind of busy," Paige added, motioning to Shana with jerk of the head.

"I saw you cozying up to Shana through the window, then I wanted to yell at you for screwing around with Emily last night," Hanna said, before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry…I just figured it was you that put the moves on Em, not the other way round."

"This is all your fault," Paige said with a wry smile.

"That's what Emily said," Hanna added with a small laugh, watching as Paige's face fell at as she mentioned Emily. "You never told me you were spending so much time together. I figured you just thought she was hot. I didn't realise you guys were so…close."

"I couldn't help myself. Well, I guess no one would ever accuse me of being _smart_ when it comes to pretty girls," Paige said dryly. "Don't worry, we won't be seeing each other again. Emily's wish is my command."

"Emily called you?" Hanna asked in surprise.

"Not exactly," Paige added, hesitating for a moment before pulling out her phone, flashing Hanna Emily's message from the night before.

"Wow, that's blunt," Hanna said with a frown. "It doesn't seem like Em to just…"

"It doesn't matter Hanna," Paige insisted, glancing back to Shana who was playing around with her phone, waiting patiently for Paige to return. "Better it all ends now before I end up doing something to fuck her up."

"You wouldn't fuck her up Paige," Hanna said, noting the self depreciating tone of Paige's voice.

"She's taken Hanna," Paige said plainly. She knew the Hanna wasn't exactly fond of Ellie, and that the other girl was becoming increasingly fond of her as they rekindled their former friendship, but the last thing she wanted was Hanna convincing her that she should still be pursuing Emily; the blonde had a way of romanticising things, and Paige had only just managed to come to her senses as far as Emily was concerned. "I appreciate your concern or whatever Han, but it's for the best. This way, nobody gets hurt."

"You're telling me that message didn't hurt when you read it?" Hanna said motioning to Paige's phone; Paige's eyes falling to the ground, giving her away, before she looked up, finding her resolve.

"It's all in the past. I should really get back to Shana."

* * *

"What does Ellie have to say about that?" Spencer asked, Emily's eyes dropping at the mention of her girlfriend. After dinner she had decided to tell her friends about deferring her place at Penn Medicine. The talk with her Father earlier that day had given her the confidence to go ahead and send in a request to defer her place at the school, and for all the uncertainty she was now facing and how much it scared her, it also felt like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The news had went down surprisingly well with her friends, much better than she had thought it would, but she knew they weren't the ones she needed to be worried about.

"I haven't told her yet," Emily said truthfully, frowning slightly as she remembered the two still hadn't had a proper conversation since the night before. Ellie's promise of a night in, _just the two of them,_ had been abandoned, her girlfriend offering Emily no other excuse for cancelling other than _'I'm busy'. _

"Don't you think she'll be kind of pissed that you didn't talk to her about it beforehand?" Spencer pointed out; Emily knew her friend wasn't accusing her of neglecting her girlfriend, Spencer simply knew how much Ellie liked to be involved in Emily's decision-making. And that this particular decision did affect the both of them, and the plans they had made for their future.

"I'm sure she will be. I've tried to tell her, but she's been blowing me off ever since I left last night," Emily explained cautiously; she had skirted around the topic of the party the best she could, wanting to avoid another lecture from Spencer about how wrong she had been to allow herself to become so close to Paige. She watched as Spencer tried to hold back, Emily assuming it was probably a Paige-related question that she was trying so hard to suppress. "I was supposed to go over tonight so we could talk about us and figure out whatever's going wrong, but I guess she doesn't want to right now."

"Maybe she's just scared you're going to break it off," Hanna piped up, sitting opposite the two as she flicked through the channels on the TV. "That's why I avoided Caleb when he went all sketchy."

"Are you thinking about breaking it off?" Spencer asked turning to Emily, quickly glossing over any mention of Caleb, knowing that the two situations were hardly comparable.

"No," Emily said shaking her head. Spencer eyed her suspiciously, but Emily was telling the truth. They had a lot to talk about before they could consider parting ways, a lot of history to leave behind them should they come to that decision. Emily knew she owed it to them to give their relationship a fighting chance. "We aren't in the best place right now, but I owe it to her to work thing's out. Four years is..."

"Don't be with somebody because you think you owe it to them, that's ridiculous," Hanna said pointedly, both Spencer and Emily turning to her in surprise as she spoke.

"I'm not with her because I feel I owe it to her," Emily said incredulously. "I'm with her because I want to be."

"Okay," Hanna said, almost scoffing, before turning her attention fully from the TV in front of her to Emily and Spencer. "Then why don't you just go over there? Have you're talk? Why do you have to wait for her to come to you?"

"She's at work," Emily said, not knowing if that was actually the case. Busy could easily just be Ellie trying to avoid the inevitable discussion they had agreed to have; which if Emily was being honest with herself was probably going to end in a fight. She had tried to contact Ellie over the course of the day, but had to admit she hadn't been too distressed about missing their night together; she still needed time to think things over so that when the time came to talk it didn't descend into another argument like it had done when they attempted to talk earlier in the week. She thought back over their time together. They had been in a similar position on several occasions, but that was mostly due to the distance during college. This time it was different. This time there was no being together after college ended to look forward to because college had well and truly ended already. This time it was the distance between them emotionally that was the problem, not the physical distance, and she didn't want to keep avoiding it.

"Fair enough," Hanna said turning her attention back to the TV in front of her, both Emily and Spencer exchanging questioning glances at Hanna's apparently low mood. "While I remember, you should really apologise to Paige."

"Why would she apologise to Paige?" Spencer asked incredulously. "It's partly thanks to Paige trying it on with Emily that's causing her problems with Ellie, right?"

"Not necessarily…" Emily began, Hanna cutting her off.

"You should apologise to Paige for trying to kiss her, and then blowing her off with a shitty text message," Hanna said pointedly. "She understands why you don't want to see her anymore Em, I just think it'd be better if you at least called her to clear the air. Whether you intended to or not, you've given her a lot of mixed messages and probably led her on whether either of you actually noticed it at the time. She talks a good talk but I know it's bothering her, so please?"

Emily took a moment to mull Hanna's words over. She had felt awful when she'd sent that message on Friday night, regardless of whether or not she was still reeling from Paige leaving with Shana, it was no excuse. Thinking back over the past few weeks, she had to admit Hanna was right. She could count no end of near-misses or _almost kisses_ in her head, all culminating in her booze-addled confession at the party. "I'll talk to her."

* * *

Emily was happy to get back to some kind of routine after the mania of the weekend prior, her day at the High School, the first day of her last week volunteering, managing to keep her mind off everything, if only partially it had been enough. Knowing that this was her final week of volunteering at Rosewood scared her; with no Penn Med in the fall, after this week was over she would well and truly be starting from scratch, a prospect that both terrified and exhilarated her in equal measure.

As the day drew to a close she found herself scared by the prospect of something else entirely; coming face to face with Paige. She had tried her best over the weekend not to think about the other girl; for all she felt the need to apologise for her cowardly text message, she had felt a stronger desire to just leave the other girl be. Paige hadn't responded, Emily deciding that perhaps, since Paige had left the party so hastily, she wanted to avoid Emily herself. Still she felt guilty, knowing that Hanna was right, she did need to apologise at some point, not necessarily for Paige but more for her own peace of mind. She wasn't happy leaving things as they were, but at the same time Emily had decided against coming face to face with Paige today.

Old habits die-hard of course, Emily unable to stop herself, sneaking out towards the entrance to see if Paige was waiting for her as she usually would be, before frowning slightly when the parking lot was filled with various parent's collecting their children, but no Paige in sight. Eventually the cars pulled away one by one, the parking lot almost empty before she recognised the familiar vehicle pulling up across from the entrance. Same spot, just like it was every day. Paige climbed out, leaning against her door; Emily didn't have to worry about being caught watching the girl as she wasn't even bothering to face the exit like she usually would, instead looking off into the distance as she waited.

Emily stood, her eyes fixed on the back of Paige's head as the auburn haired girl tossed her car keys from hand to hand, her head never once turning to find Emily standing there, Emily finding herself silently praying that she would turn around and catch her. She wanted to be on the other side of the parking lot, talking about everything and nothing like they used to. She sighed, realising how ridiculous she felt hiding in the shadows, how ridiculous she felt for not just going over there and setting things straight with Paige instead of once again taking the easiest option and avoiding her. She took a deep breath, steadying herself before making her way out of the double doors, mustering the courage to just _talk_ to Paige, only faltering when she heard Caitlin coming up behind her.

"See you tomorrow Coach Fields," Caitlin smiled, giving Emily a small wave before jogging across the parking lot, Paige turning around as she heard the sound, her head dipping as she caught sight of Emily. She gave Emily a small nod in acknowledgement, along with a sad smile. Emily sighed as the two siblings climbed into the car and drove off, the opportunity had passed. She watched as the car drove away into the distance, before turning around and making her way back inside, shoulders slumping in defeat.

* * *

Paige was aware of two things. That she didn't want to move from her couch for the rest of eternity. And that for some reason, somebody was banging on her front door like they were being chased by a horde of zombies and this was the only place on earth where they would be safe. Sighing she got to her feet, deciding that if that truly was the case she would feel awfully bad that she had allowed someone to be gnawed to death at her front door.

"Emily." Her breath caught slightly, the appearance of the girl unexpected.

"Paige?" Emily said, her words sounding more like a question, like she hadn't expected that Paige would be the one answering the door to the apartment. Sitting in her own apartment she had tried countless times to dial Paige's number, before deciding that this was something she wanted, or rather needed, to do in person. Her certainty was soon wavering now that Paige was standing in front of her. There was just something about being around her that never failed to throw her head into a spin.

"Why are you here?" Paige asked nervously.

"I don't really know."

_"Emily," _Paige sighed; she didn't want to do this anymore. She couldn't have Emily pushing her away one second and turning up unannounced the next.

"Paige about the text…"

"Message received," Paige cut Emily off quickly. "I don't want to be confusing you, so I'll do what you asked, and stay away."

"Paige I didn't mean what I said, I panicked…I like being around you, I don't want you to stay away from me."

"I _like _being around you too. But I can't be. Em…I have feelings for you. More than friendly feelings. So I need to get rid of them before we can think about being friends. I don't want to cross the line with you, and do something that could mess up what you have with Ellie. And if I'm around you…it's only a matter of time before I do. It took so much to pull away from you at that party. All I want to do when I'm around you is kiss you, or touch you, or…other seriously non-PG things."

"Right," Emily said with a blush, Paige burying her face into her hands to cover up a blush of her own, cursing herself silently as she realised just how pathetic Emily had made her become. "Paige I need to say sorry, about that text…it was so wrong of me to try to blow you off like that, as if it was nothing, and trying to kiss you…" Emily began, Paige attempting to shrug her off. "No, don't…don't pretend it didn't hurt you, I know you left with Shana but…I also know that it must have hurt you. I was wrong to corner you like that, then to try and back out in such a…cowardly way."

"Honestly, I understand," Paige said softly, pausing for a moment before motioning for Emily to come inside. Emily shook her head, taking a step backwards, Paige simply sighing and moving forward to lean against the door frame.

"Ever since I met you I've been so confused."

"Sorry," Paige said sincerely; it had never been her intention to confuse the other girl. When they had first met she had to admit her intentions were to maybe hook up with Emily at some point, nothing more. It had certainly became far more complicated than that, something she wished she could have stopped earlier.

"No, I'm not blaming you…Paige I'm thanking you," Emily clarified, Paige looking at her in confusion. "I wasn't happy with where I was going…and if it wasn't for you making me question Penn Med and…other things, I wouldn't have had the courage to even consider making any kind of changes. To even admit it to myself, that maybe I wanted something different."

"I don't think you can thank me for that…"

"I can. And I am. I'm tired, _really_ tired of being the person everyone else wants me to be," Emily said firmly, taking a tentative step towards Paige. "I'm tired of people telling me what I want."

"What is it, that you want?" Paige asked, her breath hitching slightly as she felt Emily's hand brush against her wrist.

"A lot of things," Emily said shakily, reaching out to lace their fingers together and giving Paige's hand a quick squeeze. They stood there like that, eyes fixed on their entwined hands, Emily revelling in the softness of Paige's skin against her own as she brushed her thumb against the back of Paige's hand. Reaching out to cup the other girls cheek and turning Paige's head to face her, staring into her eyes, she felt herself wavering once again, unable to stop herself leaning in slowly, only just mustering the strength to bypass Paige's lips to softly leave a kiss on Paige's cheek, her eyes falling to the ground as she realised once again she had overstepped her boundaries where Paige was concerned.

"Do you want to come inside?" Paige asked, her voice barely a whisper, her grip on the other girls hand tightening slightly as she looked up to meet Emily's gaze. Her resolve was well and truly broken; if this was the way it was going to be, if Emily insisted on pulling her close then pushing her away, she was going to take what was offered while it was there, morals be damned.

"I have to go to Ellie's place..."

"Right…right of course," Paige said, dropping Emily's hand and fixing on her best smile. She had gotten into the habit of allowing her proximity to the other girl to cloud her judgement, cursing herself internally as she thought over exactly what she had intended to do if Emily had accepted her invitation inside, and exactly how wrong that would have been. She knew there was a reason Emily hadn't entered the apartment. Why Emily had felt the need to apologise in the first place. _Ellie. _

"Paige it's not what you…"

"Look I get it. You're sorry. I accept you're apology. We can't see each other Emily, it's only going to end in tears for somebody." Paige said sternly, watching Emily's face fall. She was now adamant anything between the two of them could only end badly, and didn't want to prolong the process any longer. She had fallen hard for the other girl, and she didn't want to fall any further. "I want you. And I can't have you. So please, just make it easy for me okay, and go."

"Paige please, I didn't come here to…"

"See you around Emily." Paige cut the other girl off once again, smiling curtly before closing the front door.

* * *

"Ellie?" Emily called out, closing the door to her girlfriends apartment behind her. She looked around the familiar place; the lights were off, and the apartment remained silent as she called out once again. After her apology to Paige had blown up in her face, she wanted to make sure that her conversation with Ellie didn't go the same way, arriving a little earlier than usual, using the spare key she had been given to let herself in.

Sighing when she realised Ellie was still at work, she walked over to the couch, flopping down on it. Looking to her left she managed a sad smile as her eyes settled on a framed photograph. The picture was of the two of them, on one of the rare occasions during college that they had managed to get away for a weekend; the pair of them laughing into the camera, the waves of the sea behind them. She did her best to picture that day in her mind, to remember how it felt, to commit it to memory. She needed to focus on the good side of their relationship more than the bad if she was going to get through what she had come here to do.

"Emy?" She looked up to see Ellie walking into the room, not having heard the keys in the lock, the girl smiling softly at her. "This is a nice surprise."

"We never got to have our talk," Emily said in response, watching as Ellie tried to suppress a frown.

"I've had a long day Emily," Ellie sighed, walking over to the girl and taking a seat beside her.

"It won't take long," Emily began, smiling as Ellie relented and turned to face her. "I don't want this to end in a fight."

"Here's hoping," Ellie said dryly, sinking back into the couch.

"I sent my request off this morning, to defer my place at Penn until next year," Emily said in a quick breath, bracing herself for the backlash she was sure to receive.

"You…Emily! We didn't even talk about it!" Ellie said in disbelief, sitting back up stiffly on the couch. "You could have told me…"

"I have told you. At least that I was seriously thinking about it," Emily said, trying to not let Ellie's aggravation make her deviate from her plan of action. She had a lot to say and she wanted to say it right. "I'm sorry, I know it's not what we've planned, but it's what _I _want. Right now. It's what I need right now Ellie."

"Emily, you should have talked to me before making such a...rash decision."

"It's not rash," Emily said confidently. "I've thought this through. A lot. I need to figure out why nothing feels right anymore. I can't focus on Penn when all I'm thinking about is how unsure I am about…well everything."

"Alright," Ellie sighed, relenting slightly. "I guess it's not the end of the world. But what about us? Do you still…are you still thinking about moving in here or do you want to slow things down? We need work, you were right the other night. Maybe we should go back to how it was Freshman year, date each other again instead of whatever this had turned into…"

"Ellie I need you to listen to me," Emily said, scooting closer and taking the other girls hands in her own. "I love you, I really do."

"I love you too Emy," Ellie said with a soft smile, brushing her thumbs gently over the skin of Emily's palms.

"You are such a huge part of my life, and at one point…I was ready to build my whole life around you," Emily glanced at the picture once again, both saddened and spurred on as she realised they were no longer the same as they once were. They were both becoming different people now, together and apart.

"What are you trying to say Emily?" Ellie asked in confusion.

"That I don't think I'm the same person I was then. I still love you Ellie, but…I don't think I'm _in _love with you anymore."


	6. Chapter 6

_Quick update as promised. As always thank you for the reviews and PM's, you're all wonderful :) It will probably be at least a week or two until the next update, life's about to get busy. I hope you enjoy this one. _

* * *

**_Chapter Six: Shift_**

"It's not fair on you."

Paige looked up from her spot on the couch, having made no attempt to move since she had slumped onto it when Emily had left earlier that night. _When she had told Emily to leave. _

"You don't think maybe I was a little harsh?" she asked with a frown; she was beginning to feel guilty for shutting the door in Emily's face.

"You've told her you like her, on like, numerous occasions," Dawn said, looking at her friend pointedly. "And I'm glad you've told her how unfair she's being, showing up like that. You shouldn't let her jerk you around."

"She's confused," Paige said in an attempt to excuse Emily's actions recently. "It's complicated."

"Yeah, for her, you however, you don't need to deal with that crap," Dawn said matter-of-factly once again, Paige sighing. She knew her friend was right; when she had told Dawn about the party, the almost-kiss and the text message afterwards, Dawn had promptly warned her to back off; reminding Paige she was only going to get hurt. She still couldn't seem to shake the urge to run after Emily when she had left. "Do yourself a favour and move on; what happened to that girl you met at the party? The set-up?"

"She's…interesting," Paige shrugged. Since she'd bumped into to Shana at the church fair, they had yet to meet up again, but had exchanged the odd message occasionally.

"Interesting and _single," _Dawn smirked, sighing when Paige didn't seem to share her enthusiasm.

"I've decided I'm off women," Paige declared, throwing her hands up in the air. "I'm just going to stay single for a while."

"You've already been single for a while, a _long _while. You're basically celibate," Dawn mused, Paige looking at her distinctly unimpressed. Dawn took a seat opposite Paige, Paige sensing that her friend was about to share some more of her 'wisdom'. "You are a catch Paige McCullers. Don't condemn yourself to a life alone because you fell for a girl you can't have. You could have any girl you wanted if you'd just give someone a chance."

"Someone like Shana?" Paige asked, watching as Dawn shrugged.

"I'm just saying think about it." Dawn said with a shrug. "What's the worst that could happen?"

* * *

Emily had spent the time it took to get from Ellie's apartment to her own in a state of shock; not quite believing what she had done, that she had been the one to effectively call time on their relationship. After leaving her apartment that evening she had every intention of talking things through with Ellie; finding a way to work through the rut they had caught themselves in. But sitting in Ellie's apartment, reminiscing about what they once were but no longer are, it had hit her, and the words had just came spilling out as if she was on auto-pilot; thinking back now it felt like she had watched a copy of herself breakup with her girlfriend. _Her ex-girlfriend. _It didn't feel real.

Turning off the engine to her car, it finally hit her. This happened. This was real. They were over, and she knew in her heart of hearts, it was going to be for good. At that moment it was all too much for her; Emily felt herself breaking down.

How she had ended up in her bed, she didn't know. Somewhere between sobbing uncontrollably in her car and lying fully clothed beneath her duvet she had somehow managed to make her way upstairs to her apartment; ignoring her friends concerned questioning, unable to answer them and just needing to be alone, making a beeline straight for her room. She could hear the hushed voices from the other side of her bedroom door, knowing that seeing her tear-stained cheeks and obvious anguish must have left them both feeling confused and concerned.

She managed a few sober thoughts now she had the time to herself, knowing deep down that she had made the right decision. It didn't make her happy. She wasn't sure if she had ever believed it would. It had taken Ellie by surprise, a pang of guilt coursing though Emily as she thought back to the girls face when she had told her she didn't love her anymore. Ellie had went from shock and despair to anger fairly quickly; not failing to remind Emily that she was making a huge mistake. But it wasn't a mistake. She knew it at that moment; her heart ached for what they had shared and lost, but no longer ached for Ellie herself.

The door creaked open, Hanna walking cautiously into the room, faced etched with concern. Emily simply shook her head, her eyes pleading with her friend, praying Hanna understood she couldn't explain anything right now. She felt drained, almost numb, if she had to describe what she was feeling. Thankfully Hanna seemed to understand, climbing in beside her friend hand hugging her close, silently letting Emily know that she was there for her. Emily relaxed slightly into her friends embrace; she could explain tomorrow, for now she needed to let the events of the night sink in.

* * *

Emily groaned, her alarm clock blaring. She felt Hanna shifting behind her; the two didn't seem to have moved since they had fallen asleep last night, the blonde reaching over to slam the alarm clock off before rolling over and resuming her slumber. After all the drama of the night before, Emily had almost forgotten it was only Tuesday; she still had to get up early if she was going to make her way to Rosewood High on time. Stretching out she buried her face into the pillow, releasing one last groan before pulling herself up and making her way into the bathroom.

By the time she had showered, dressed and made her way into the kitchen, Hanna was awake and sat at the counter, much to Emily's surprise. The blonde rarely got up before 11am most weekdays, but it was when Emily noticed Spencer making breakfast, another rarity in the Fields-Hastings household, that she suspected something was up. Judging by the expressions on both of their faces, it was safe to say they were both concerned and wanted answers. She rolled her eyes slightly as Spencer motioned to the empty space at the table, setting a plate of food down in front of her as Emily took her seat. She appreciated the gesture, but her appetite wasn't really there. She sighed, knowing that she needed to eat something for the busy day ahead, taking a bite of her pancakes.

"What happened last night Em?" Spencer asked after waiting for what she obviously felt was a fair amount of time, sharing a look with Hanna as she placed their own plates down in front of them.

Emily placed her knife and fork down, looking up to her friends before speaking. "Ellie and I broke up." The words still sounded foreign to her, even more so as she heard them out loud for the first time. Spencer's eyes widened in surprise, while Hanna simply nodded in acceptance. A silence settled over them as her friends processed the information.

"For real this time?" Spencer asked; there had been several occasions during college where they had taken a 'break', but Emily knew that this time that wasn't the case, nodding in response. "How are you taking it?"

"Things hadn't been right for a long time," Emily said with a sad shrug; after having time to let things sink in she was even more sure this was what she wanted, but the sadness was still there. Right decision or not, Ellie was a big part of her life and it was going to take some time to adjust to that no longer being the case. "We talked, and I realised…I don't love her like I used to."

"How did she take it?" Hanna asked through a mouthful of food.

"Not so well," Emily said with a frown. "It took her by surprise. She was really hoping we could start over." Ellie, for all she had known that they weren't in the best place, had been shocked by Emily's confession, the memory once again causing Emily to feel a pang of sadness deep in her chest. There had been a lot of yelling. And a lot of questions. Emily didn't have the reasons Ellie wanted her to give. All she knew was it just simply wasn't right anymore. She had left because Ellie asked her to, demanded she did. It was a strange mixture of feelings to have; she felt sadness that what they once had had faded away, guilt that she had caused Ellie so much pain and a strange sense of ease that it was all over and done with. It had been a long time coming. "I feel pretty terrible, she really didn't see it coming…"

"If it's what you wanted then it's better than you dragging it out," Spencer said reassuringly, noticing Emily was about to give herself a guilt trip. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm still letting it sink in," Emily said, Spencer nodding in understanding. They had all been in this position at one time or another; Emily strangely thankful that her break-up with Ellie didn't resemble either of her friends recent heart-breaks. She frowned when she realised that was because she was the heartbreaker on this occasion, and it wasn't something she ever thought she would have to be.

"How about we get Aria over here one night this week?" Spencer suggested, giving Emily a warm smile. "We can get a crate of wine and just bitch about our singledom?"

"I'd like that," Emily smiled, a genuine smile for the first time in days. They settled into an easy silence, finishing off their breakfasts, Emily happy that no matter what, the four of them still had each other.

"Have you spoken to Fulton about staying on once summers over?" Spencer asked, reminding Emily of her other dilemma; what she was going to do now that she had deferred her place at Med school. It was her last week at Rosewood, and once it was over, she would be starting from scratch, the prospect both exciting and unsettling; the doubts already beginning to creep into her mind about whether it had been a good idea to drop out of Penn after all. Prolonging her stint at the High School was something she was keen to do; whether it would be possible or not was another story.

"I was going to wait until the summer school finished up. Maybe I should just get it over with now, why prolong the pain of rejection," Emily said biting her lip anxiously, Hanna noticing the worry etched onto her friends face and reaching out to squeeze her arm supportively.

"They'd be mad not to want you Em." She hoped her friend was right.

* * *

"…yeah but is it too formal? It's only a café," Paige asked, hearing Hanna groaning behind her. It felt like they had been in this store for hours, which she knew Hanna wouldn't usually mind; but if the blonde was beginning to grow impatient with clothes-related activities she knew it was time to stop messing around and settle on an outfit.

_"Paige,"_ Hanna whined. "I've told you, this is the one. Smart but still edging on casual."

"Wait…is it too casual for a job interview?" Paige asked as she gave herself another once-over in the mirror, hearing Hanna groan louder this time.

"Will you just buy the damn outfit?" Hanna said, whining once again. "You asked me for advice and this is my advice; Buy. This. One."

Paige studied herself in the mirror once again, before deciding to trust Hanna's instincts. "Thank you. I'll go change and then we can go grab some food."

"Finally," Hanna said in relief, Paige rolling her eyes as she made her way back into the changing rooms. She changed quickly, Hanna smiling satisfactorily as she they made their way to the register, paying for the outfit and heading off towards the food court. "What is your interview for again anyway?"

"Shana got me an interview at her Aunt's café," Paige answered, not failing to notice Hanna's eyebrows quirking as she mentioned Shana.

"_Shana, _huh?" Hanna smirked, Paige rolling her eyes.

"Don't say her name like that," Paige said in discomfort. Shana had called her on Tuesday morning to let her know that her Aunt was on the lookout for new kitchen staff, remembering that Paige had mentioned her penchant for baking. "She knows I need a job, and offered to set it up. Her Aunt needs the staff, I need a job. It was nice of her to remember."

"Uh huh," Hanna grinned, Paige's eyebrows furrowing at the look on the girls face. "So?"

"So what?" Paige asked with a sigh.

"Are you two getting it on or what?" Hanna said with another smirk, causing Paige to roll her eyes once more.

"You sound just like Dawn," Paige said with a small chuckle; her roommate had been like a broken record since she'd told her about Shana calling the other morning.

"You should feel honoured that so many of your friends want you to get laid," Hanna laughed, the laugh soon dying off as she realised Paige was unamused.

"We're just…acquaintances," Paige shrugged. For all she had enjoyed Shana's company, she was in no rush to see the other girl again, the thought making her frown. "Why are you so obsessed with my sex life?"

"Well one of us has to get some," Hanna said with a shrug, Paige shaking her head at her friend.

"You can _date _you know Hanna," Paige said knowingly. Just by looking at the other girl she could tell Hanna was still reluctant to move on from Caleb. "It's been a _long _time since Caleb Han, we all have to move on some time right?"

"You still haven't heard from him?" Hanna asked, Paige sighing once again. She shook her head; on one hand she wished that she could point Hanna in her ex boyfriends direction and on the other she wished that she knew what to say to convince her friend to let it go. She took a mental note to send an email his way, if she could somehow reunite Hanna with Caleb, if anything at least the blonde could get the closure she clearly needed.

"When I do, you'll be the first to know okay?" Paige said assuredly, Hanna giving her a thankful smile.

"Have you heard from Emily lately?" Hanna said, attempting to sound casual but failing. Paige frowned at the mention of Emily's name; for all she had asked Emily to leave her alone on Monday night it hadn't stopped her from thinking about her. She shook her head in response, not wanting to talk about whatever it was that had happened the last time they spoke.

"She broke up with Ellie," Hanna said, studying Paige closely as she revealed that piece of information.

"When?" Paige asked, trying to hide her surprise and remain indifferent. She was certain it wasn't working.

"Monday night," Hanna said, her eyes narrowing once again, Paige's face obviously giving something away. "She's pretty all over the place at the minute, her swim thing ending, dumping Ellie..."

"I guess all that change would throw her into a bit of a spin," Paige shrugged, realising now why Emily had been so obviously conflicted the last time they saw each other.

"I hope she can work things out," Paige said, and she genuinely meant it, but inside she was practically hyperventilating. Emily was single. _Emily was single. _She tried to quell the strange excitement that had begun to rise up within her, but it was too late, Hanna had already caught the small flicker of hope that had flashed across Paige's face.

"I figured you might like to know that," Hanna smirked, Paige rolling her eyes at the girl once again.

"And why would that be?" Paige asked humourlessly.

"She likes you, you like her…"

"She's been single for like five minutes Hanna," Paige said pointedly.

"It's just something for you to keep in mind," Hanna smirked once again, Paige sighing. Emily being single didn't necessarily change anything. Or maybe it changed everything. Paige sighed as they made their way into the food court. One thing that wasn't changing anytime soon was that her mind was filled with thoughts of Emily Fields. Constantly.

* * *

Emily knew subtlety wasn't Hanna's strong suit, so she was thankful her friend had been out for the majority of the day. She had however underestimated how awkward Spencer was able to be. She watched as her friend tried to interact with Ellie as she walked into their apartment, and it had left her cringing. Thankfully Spencer had made herself scarce fairly quickly, leaving Emily and Ellie alone, an uncomfortable silence settling over them.

Emily had been surprised when Ellie had contacted her that Thursday afternoon, telling her she'd gathered up everything belonging to Emily in her apartment and asking her when the best time to exchange it would be. Emily had decided the sooner they got it over with the better. She understood why Ellie felt the need to get this over with sooner rather than later; the quicker the reminders of their relationship were gone the quicker both of them could start working on getting over it.

"Where do you want me to put this?" Ellie asked, pointing to the bag slung over her shoulder.

"I'll take it," Emily smiled, taking the bag and placing it on the floor. It felt awful, the distance between them now; it had only been 4 days and already they were standing here like strangers. She didn't know how she had expected to feel seeing Ellie again, but empty certainly hadn't been a possibility that crossed her mind.

"I ran into your Mom this-morning," Ellie said breaking the silence, watching as Emily gathered up the various things from around the room, placing them into a box. "She didn't know."

"I haven't really gotten around to telling her yet."

"She's…she was going to call you," Ellie said, sighing and leaning against the wall. Emily took little comfort in the fact that this was seemingly just as hard for Ellie as it was for herself.

Emily let out a sigh of her own. She knew her Mother was still fussing over her dropping out at Penn Med for this year; knowing about her breakup with Ellie was only going to worry the woman more. She looked over to Ellie as she finished packing up the last traces of their relationship into the surprisingly small brown box, the blonde girls expression blank.

"I'll be going then," Ellie said, grabbing the box out of Emily's hands before turning to leave. Emily's heart broke a little as the girl turned away from her; she didn't want to leave it like that.

"Ellie, I'm so sorry," Emily said almost pleadingly, watching as the girl turned back to face her. "I didn't want to hurt you."

"It's a little late for that," Ellie said bluntly, her face softening slightly when she saw how upset Emily had become. "Hey," she said softly, placing the box down, walking towards Emily and pulling her into a hug. "It's just a shock, that's all. I'm sorry for snapping at you."

"This is hard for me too, you know that right?" Emily asked as she pulled back, tears glistening in her eyes.

"I do," Ellie smiled, brushing away a stray tear that had made its way down Emily's cheek. She leant forward, pecking Emily's lips lightly, causing the dark-haired girl to stagger backwards. "Don't do this Emy, we may not be perfect but we're...familiar. Solid. It's hard to find that."

"I don't want _familiar_ Ellie," Emily said, frowning. "I want…"

"No, go on, you want what?" Ellie insisted, Emily shaking her head. Listing all the things she wanted but didn't find in Ellie wasn't exactly something she wanted to do to herself or the other girl.

"I want you to know I'm sorry Ellie," Emily said once again, picking up the box and handing it to the other girl.

"You'll regret this," Ellie frowned, turning on her heel and walking straight out the door without a glance backwards. Emily laughed sadly, she didn't know why it felt so bitterly funny. Four years, and this was it. Not even a goodbye. Emily felt like she should be sobbing uncontrollably, but all she really felt was acceptance.

* * *

"No more for me," Emily said as Hanna attempted to top up her glass, placing her hand protectively over the top of it as the blonde gave her a look of disgust. "I have to actually get up tomorrow."

For all it was wonderful to blow off steam with her closest friends, especially after her run-in with Ellie earlier that night, Emily was beginning to regret the wine part of their 'wine night'. It was her last day at Rosewood tomorrow, and saying as she was beginning to feel the familiar wooziness from the alcohol, she didn't fancy turning up with a hangover, especially as she intended to talk to Fulton about staying on once summer was over.

"Boring," Hanna sighed, plonking herself back down in-between Emily and Aria, motioning for Spencer to continue her story. She had been telling them about the guy she had taken to Aria's party, Neil, and why their second date had crashed and burned. She carried on with the story, leaving all four girls in fits of laugher as she told them exactly why she wouldn't be seeing him again.

"He did _not _say that?" Aria said in disbelief, Hanna and Emily still laughing beside her.

"I'm afraid he did," Spencer said with a sigh. "Can we just make a pact to stay desperately single together?" she asked, raising her glass, Emily and Hanna clinking theirs together, Aria rolling her eyes, feeling left out.

"Maybe that's not the best idea," Hanna said with a smirk, turning to Emily who eyed her suspiciously.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Emily asked in confusion, Hanna shrugging and taking a gulp of her wine.

"I was with Paige all day today, and it looks like she isn't going to be moving away anytime soon," Hanna said, hinting not so subtly that Emily should reconsider starting something with the girl. She had tried her best to not think about Paige, leaving Ellie and her uncertain future keeping her mind preoccupied, but she would be lying if she said she hadn't been thinking about the way they had left things.

"She's been single less than a week Hanna," Spencer said rolling her eyes at the blonde.

"I'm not saying she has to marry her! I'm saying she should…get back on the horse. Wait…" Hanna said pondering her last statement, Emily slapping her on the arm lightly.

"Like a fall fling?" Aria suggested, Hanna nodding with a mouthful of wine.

"Paige could never be just a fling," Emily said offhandedly, watching as Aria and Spencer looked at her in surprise at her admission. "I mean…we were basically friends, it would be weird."

"You _mean _you're still really into her," Hanna said correcting Emily, smirking in satisfaction when Emily didn't deny it.

"She's a good person Hanna, I don't want to think about getting involved with her if I'm just going to end up hurting her down the line," Emily said with a sigh. For all she knew her friends assumed that she had simply been attracted to Paige, Emily knew her feelings went far further than that. But everything was up in the air at the moment, and she wanted to move past that before she even entertained the prospect of starting something with Paige.

"You know what Paige would say about that right?" Hanna piped up, the other three girls turning to her with quizzical expressions. "Do it now or regret it later."

"Really Hanna?" Spencer scoffed, Hanna simply shrugging.

"I'm just saying, Paige is a in the moment kind of girl," Hanna shrugged. "She'd be good for you. She's not going to bog you down with a 5-year plan like Ellie did."

"_Hanna_," Emily said with another sigh. "It's too soon. Besides, last time we spoke she wanted me to leave her alone."

"Because you were with Ellie," Hanna said matter-of-factly.

"Hanna, _not now_ okay?" Emily said exasperatedly.

"I'm just saying, if you want her, snap her up," Hanna said throwing her hands up in defence. "It's only a matter of time before someone else does."

"Yeah what happened with her and Shana?" Aria asked, casting her mind back to introducing the two at her party.

"My point exactly," Hanna said pointedly, Emily sighing. She wanted Paige to be happy, and if that was with Shana then she didn't want to come between that, especially while she was in such a state of flux. She tried her best to suppress the feeling rising up within her; the voice in her head telling her that she would regret it if she let Paige slip away.

* * *

It was kind of bittersweet, like most things in her life this week, Emily realising that her time at Rosewood would soon be over. The last few days had passed in a blur, and now it was all over. Emily waved the girls off as they entered the changing rooms, walking over to Coach Fulton who had called her over, wanting to thank Emily once again. She was definitely going to miss it. The girls, the water, her old swim Coach. Mustering up the courage, she pulled Coach Fulton aside. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can Emily," the older woman smiled, waiting patiently for Emily to continue.

"I recently deferred my place at Penn Med this fall," Emily began nervously, her confidence waning but pushing on regardless. "I was wondering if there were any openings available when school starts up again?"

"I'd love to say there was," Fulton said with an apologetic smile. "But we don't really have the space at the moment."

"Oh," Emily said, her heart sinking. She had put the majority of her hope in the possibility of continuing on at Rosewood in the fall. "I'm sorry, I know it was wrong of me to ask."

"Don't be ridiculous Emily," Fulton said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We'd love to have you. I just don't think we have a place for you right now. You'll be the first to know if something comes up, I promise you."

"Thanks Coach," Emily smiled, frowning slightly as she realised that now she really did have to start from scratch.

"Thank you, Fields. We've been lucky to have you this summer."

She gave her coach one last thankful smile before making her way into the locker room to collect her things. Now the hard part would really begin; in the past few days there had been nothing but doubts creeping into her mind; she still didn't know what she would do now her volunteering was up, especially now that the possibility of staying at Rosewood High was out of the picture, and whilst she didn't think deferring from Penn Med was a mistake she did worry that she hadn't bothered to come up with an alternative beforehand. Her anxiety was only growing, and would continue to grow as time ticked on.

* * *

"You seem sad." Paige turned to her left, finding her brother staring up at her inquisitively, his brow furrowed. She couldn't help but smile as she looked at the boy; finding both his expression and clear concern adorable.

"I'm not sad kiddo," she said ruffling his hair, watching with a chuckle as he frowned at the action. "Don't worry about me okay?"

"But you seem sad," he repeated, his eyes still fixed on Paige as she sighed. For all he was only young her had a knack for picking up on her discomfort. She knew he didn't like to see her when she was so withdrawn, suspecting he associated it with the days leading up to her leaving for college. She knew he worried that she was going to leave again; disappearing for months on end had been hard on him, he looked up to her so much.

"I'm not sad Ev, promise," she said with the best smile she could muster. "I just wish Cait would hurry up is all, I want my ice cream, don't you?" Evan smiled at that, nodding his head enthusiastically; she had surprised him that afternoon, promising to take him and her sister into town for some sugary indulgence, celebrating Caitlin's last practice of the summer. She glanced cautiously over to the entrance of the natatorium, uncertain whether she was praying she _didn't _catch sight of Emily or praying she _did_. For all she knew it was her who asked Emily to leave her alone, Hanna's admission that Emily was single now had left her thinking about the other girl. Frequently. It was the last day of Caitlin's swim camp, and the last time she would be waiting in this parking lot, so the chances of bumping into Emily afterwards would be slim, and for whatever reason the prospect wasn't sitting well with her. She knew Emily needed her space, and was worried that maybe she had been an inadvertent cause of the break up, at least in a small way, figuring it was best she kept her distance until Emily could sort herself out.

"Can I stay with you and Dawn tonight? She promised we'd play Sega together." Evan asked, looking up at Paige pleadingly, her brow furrowing at the thought of having to say no to the boy.

"I don't know kiddo, Mom probably won't…"

"Caitlin can come too! She'll say yes if Cait can come too. Please Paige?" Paige sighed, cursing herself internally, one look at Evan flashing her his best puppy-dog-eyes and she was done for.

"I'll call Mom and ask," Paige said caving in, watching as her brother broke into a grin when he got his own way. "Don't get your hopes up, and don't move okay? If Caitlin comes just get in the car." She walked back to her car to grab her phone, taking a seat as she dialled the number, waiting patiently for someone to answer.

"Hello?" _Shit._

Uh…Dad, hi. It's Paige," she stuttered out, cursing herself internally for calling the landline without giving it a second thought.

"Oh," was all he said in response, a heavy silence settling over the line. Paige panicked for a moment; she hadn't spoken to her Father for far longer than she cared to remember, not exactly knowing how she was supposed to proceed. She knew she needed to get her Mother on the line if she was to have any chance of getting a yes for Evan, but at the same time she felt like she shouldn't pass up on the opportunity to talk to her Father; she'd passed on so many during the past four years.

"How are you feeling today?" She asked somewhat dumbly; she felt rather brazen for acting like this was something she asked him often; usually she settled for her Mothers updates and she suspected that suited him perfectly; regardless of that fact she was doing her best to ignore the discomfort that both of them must have felt as the thick silence returned once again.

"I'm fine, as always. Goddamn doctors don't know what they're talking about," he said begrudgingly, before seemingly remembering himself and coughing awkwardly. "I'll get your Mother." Paige was about to protest, to try to somehow ease into conversation with him now that she finally had his attention, before she heard the clatter of the receiver and the bellowing of his voice carrying through the house, sighing as she realised she was stupid to think it was going to be that easy.

She picked up on her Mothers obvious excitement as the older woman came on the line, the woman noting that Paige and her Father had finally exchanged words without screaming, violence or heart attacks being involved, the smile evident in her voice, Paige resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Paige quickly brushed her off, and without the need for much persuasion managed to get a yes from her Mom; her siblings could stay the night.

"Paige!" She heard as she hung up the phone, making her way around the car and stopping dead in her tracks. "Emily's a shark too, neat huh?"

"Hi," Emily said timidly, offering Paige a small wave. Evan must have recognised her as she made her way into the lot Paige figured, Emily probably heading to her own car while Paige had been occupied on the phone. Paige stumbled through about a million different thoughts; wondering if she should act happy or indifferent or annoyed or god knows, settling on offering the other girl a soft smile. Frowning, she wondered how anyone had ever called her _smooth. _

"Emily's sad too Paige, can she come for food?" Evan asked, both Paige and Emily's eyes widening.

"Ev, I'm sure Emily's really busy…"

"Yeah, I should really be getting home," Emily smiled sweetly at the boy, watching as he frowned.

"But you're sad though, right?" Evan asked.

"Evan," Paige said sternly; for all she loved him for his sweetness, she found herself wishing he would stop picking up on peoples emotions and stop asking so many questions. She looked at Emily, noting that the girls eyes were quite puffy, like maybe she had been crying. It was perfectly plausible that she was sad the summer programme was ending, and Paige knew Emily had a lot on her mind right now.

"I am a little sad, if i'm honest," Emily smiled softly as Evan smiled up at her. "It's my last day here and well…I'll miss it."

"Emily's going back to school in a few weeks, like you guys," Paige added after she watched her brothers face twist in confusion, the boy obviously wondering why Emily would no longer be a 'shark'.

"Actually, I'm not," Emily added, almost nervously, shifting her gaze from Evan to Paige. "I deferred my place at Penn."

"Wow," Paige said in genuine surprise. Caitlin sauntered up to them with a questioning look on her face, but remained silent, looking from person to person and trying to pick up the conversation. "You've been making all the big decisions this week huh?" Paige said knowingly, Emily looking at her questioningly before realising Hanna probably let slip the news about Ellie.

"I guess you could say that," Emily said with a sad smile. "I should really get going, nice to see you again Evan. Good luck Caitlin, not that you'll need it next season."

"Thanks for everything Coach," Caitlin said with a genuine smile, Paige's eyebrow raising when there was surprisingly no snark from her sister. She ushered her two siblings into her car, watching intently as Emily made her way to her own vehicle. She shook her head, opening her door, before changing her mind and shutting it in haste; her heart reigning over her head for a split second as she ran across the parking lot.

"Emily!" Paige said, startling the other girl slightly as she stopped just short of the car.

"Paige?" Emily said in response, looking at the girl questioningly as Paige simply stood there.

"I…are you okay?" Paige began, watching as Emily started to brush her off but not giving her the chance. "Hanna told me about Ellie, and now Penn, and summer camp ending…and I just…are you okay?"

"Not really," Emily admitted, her voice wavering slightly. She had began to let the worry take over as she gathered up her belongings, somehow ending up on the verge of tears as she left the natatorium.

"If it's about Penn Em…you should be proud of yourself, thats a really tough decision to make," Paige said with a sweet smile. She wanted to add in that it was also brave to break things off with Ellie, but wanted to steer clear of the subject of Emily's ex.

"I'm kind of terrified by it," Emily admitted, releasing a shaky breath and offering Paige a thankful smile. She had been trying her best to keep it together around her friends, but as always there was something about Paige that gave her the confidence to simply let it all out. "This is it now. I'm…starting over. What if I…what if I've made a huge mistake?"

"It makes sense to feel a little overwhelmed," Paige said, watching as Emily gave her a slow nod in agreement. "I mean, sure, it's scary. But, what if it's the best thing you've ever done? It's scary to start over, because you can do anything you want now really. There's so many options to choose from, and thats bound to make you feel a little stumped. You'll work it out Em, I know you will."

"Thank you," Emily said genuinely, Paige's words reassuring her slightly.

"How about you start by deciding something simple; ice cream with the McCullers clan; yay or nay?"

"I really can't," Emily said glancing over to Paige's car. She wanted to say yes, desperately. She'd spoken to Paige for less than five minutes and she was already feeling happier, calmer. But it was still too soon. Paige was dangerous territory, she already had so many feelings to contend with right now and spending time with the other girl was surely only going to add to them.

"Okay," Paige said with a nod of understanding. She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should leave it at that, unable to stop herself from continuing. "Em, last time we spoke…"

"I'm sorry for…whatever that was," Emily said cutting Paige off, watching as Paige frowned slightly.

"I just…I don't need you to leave me alone, I was stupid to say that. I can be your friend. If you need to talk, or whatever," Paige began, before shaking her head slightly; she didn't know what she was trying to say, all she knew was that she wanted to let Emily know she could come to her, for anything, at anytime. That she wanted to see her again. "If you need me, or want to see me…I'm always there okay? Don't be a stranger?"

Emily looked at Paige for a moment, watching the other girl smiling at her softly, tilting her head to one side as she waited for Emily to respond, a small smile tugging onto her own lips. "I won't."

* * *

Her hand hovered in front of the door once again, how long she had stood there willing herself to just knock Emily wasn't sure, and she was beginning to feel slightly foolish. She didn't know why she had ended up at Paige's front door. On her way back from Rosewood High she had decided to bite the bullet and visit her parents place, her Mother chock full of questions about Ellie and Penn; what had possessed her to do such things, and why now. It had left her head spinning, so much so that she had ended up simply driving around aimlessly for a while trying to clear her mind, and somehow that had lead her here.

She focused her attention back on the door, mentally slapping herself for being so hesitant and beginning a countdown in her head. _1…2…_

"P, door!" Emily startled slightly, yanking her hand back. She hadn't even knocked on Paige's front door before it opened, the angry brunette from her first visit here pulling it open, apparently on her way out. She gave Emily an unimpressed look before pushing past her and making her way into the hall, stopping as they came to stand side by side. "Does this dress look slutty to you?"

"Um, no?" Emily answered nervously, watching as the girl shrugged and waved her off, making her way towards the elevators.

"Emily? hey," Paige smiled in surprise, pulling the door open fully and motioning for her to step inside. "This is a surprise." Paige said with a grin. "A nice surprise."

"Sorry for just showing up…is this okay?" Emily asked cautiously, rooted to her spot in the hallway. She heard laughing from what she assumed was the living room, a girls laugh, and felt herself frown; she scolded herself internally for assuming she wouldn't be interrupting Paige's evening. It was a Friday night after all.

"Of course," Paige smiled softly, her brow furrowing in concern. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Emily said, shaking her head. "I don't know. I just…I needed to get away for a bit, and I um…ended up here."

"Oh," Paige said with a small smile, biting her lip anxiously. Emily's arrival was unexpected, but not unwelcome. "Well, I'm glad you're here."

"If I'm interrupting something…" Emily said with a frown, glancing past Paige as she heard laughter once again.

"You're not," Paige laughed lightly as she realised what Emily was referring to. "We were just ordering Pizza, you're welcome to join us?"

"I'm sure your friend doesn't want me crashing," Emily protested, Paige smirking at her in amusement.

"I think you'll find my friends are your friends," Paige said, Emily's brow furrowing in confusion. "Evan and Cait are here, we're having a movie night."

"Oh," Emily said in relief. She rolled her eyes at herself; she had assumed that Paige had friends over, or even worse, a date. Of course Paige wouldn't have invited her to join a _date, _she realised cursing her own stupidity again. "That sounds nice."

"You thought I had a date here didn't you?" Paige grinned in amusement, the grin growing as she watched Emily blush slightly.

"No," Emily scoffed nervously, smiling as she saw Paige grinning at her.

"It's family night. You in?" Paige asked. Emily thought about it for a moment, before returning Paige's grin, nodding in response and following Paige into the lounge.

* * *

Emily couldn't really believe it. At the beginning of the week, this was probably the last scenario she thought she would find herself in come Friday night. She had worried at first how Evan, or more truthfully Caitlin would feel about her arrival at Paige's apartment, crashing in on their family night. She needn't have worried though. Caitlin had been her usual indifferent self, and Evan had taken to a shine to Emily, much like he had the first time they met at the lake. He was now sleeping soundly, his head resting in her lap, Caitlin twisted in to an impossibly uncomfortable position on the chair opposite, snoozing quietly. And then there was Paige, sitting on the other side of Evan, eyes fixed on the screen in front of them, her arm resting between them on the couch. Emily couldn't help the smile that tugged on her face as she watched the other girl, thinking back over their evening together. It had been just what she needed, all of her worries didn't seem so bad anymore. Maybe her future was uncertain, but that didn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. Paige was right; starting over didn't have to be scary; it could be anything she wanted it to be.

She didn't know what it was about Paige that gave her so much comfort, why her first instinct had been to come here when she couldn't face going home. She bit her lip, thinking for a moment before tentatively reaching out, intending to lay her hand on top of Paige's; an innocent enough move in her opinion. It was a simple enough gesture, she decided, she was simply letting Paige know she appreciated her company. She stalled for a moment before she remembered there was no reason to hold back, a frown tugging onto her face as Caitlin stirred and Paige's arm shifted.

"I'm going to bed," Caitlin said with a yawn, stretching as she stood. "G'night."

"I'll bring Ev in, grab me a pillow?" Paige asked, standing up and tugging the throw from the back of the couch. She leant down, giving Emily a quick smile as she scooped up her brother, the boy barely stirring as she carried him off in the direction of the bedroom, Caitlin offering Emily a smile as she followed, Emily now left sitting alone on the couch. She paused the movie, looking at her bag near the door in contemplation, unable to decide whether she should leave. She felt more relaxed than she had in weeks, and in truth didn't really want her night here to end.

Paige walked back into the living room, shutting the door behind her, her siblings both tucked into her bed. She placed her pillow and blanket down on the chair next to her, Emily looking at it and realising Paige must have wanted to make up a bed on the couch, standing awkwardly and looking around the room for her Sharks jacket, still in her sweats from practice that morning.

"Are you thinking about going? I thought we could watch the end of the movie maybe?" Paige asked, Emily realising Paige wanted her to stay as much as she herself wanted to. Emily nodded, both girls settling back onto the sofa, Paige pressing play. She frowned slightly when she realised they were now stuck watching one of her brother's movies, but one glance towards Emily told her the other girl didn't seem to mind.

Emily didn't know how Paige was managing to focus so intently on the movie. If she was honest, she couldn't even remember the name of it, let alone know what on earth was happening on the screen. She had agreed to stay so late because Evan's face was impossible to say no to and she hadn't been able to spend any time with Paige in over a week, realising now that she had the other girls company how much she'd missed it. The last time they had properly spoke, everything had been a mess. Paige had told her to leave. Paige had also told her she wanted her, and couldn't have her. But that had changed now, at least in Emily's opinion. She returned her gaze to the TV screen, realising that she was staring at Paige intently and that maybe that would creep the other girl out.

The film didn't hold her attention for long though; Emily deciding instead to trail her eyes back over to Paige, watching as the other girl brought her legs up to rest on the sofa, her hand resting on her calf. If Emily just moved a little to the right…she shifted, Paige's eyes thankfully remaining fixed on the screen. She reached out once again, slowly, nudging Paige's hand until she was able to link their fingers together, letting out a breath she didn't realise she was holding when she felt Paige giving them a gentle squeeze, watching the smile tugging onto the other girls lips.

It wasn't long until the movie had ended, but Emily couldn't name a single thing that had played out on the screen; her eyes had been too busy focusing on Paige. Her eyes glistening with reflections from the movie in the darkness, the nape of the other girls neck, the rise and fall of her chest, the unimpressed look that would tug onto her face at certain parts of the film. And their entwined hands, Emily practically whimpering when Paige let go. She stood to turn off the DVD, Emily following suit and standing up, albeit begrudgingly, tugging on her jacket that was hung over the back of the couch.

"Thanks for letting me crash family night," she said timidly as Paige turned towards her.

"Anytime," Paige said giving her a small smile, Emily returning it as she made her way to the door. "Sorry you got kind of dragged into staying so long, Evan…"

"…is really hard to say no to," Emily cut her off, smiling as Paige opened the front door for her. She turned to face Paige, who was leaning against the door frame, still hesitant for the night to come to an end. "I've had a really great night Paige."

"I'm glad. Don't worry too much about everything, okay?" Paige said, gently reaching out and running her hand down Emily's forearm, causing the other girl to shiver. "You'll figure it out eventually."

"I'll try my best," Emily said with a small shrug. "Today, with finishing up at the High School it all just sort of, hit me. I felt like running away to just to forget everything. So thank you, for letting me escape for a while. I hope you don't think I'm…"

"Anytime Em. I mean it," Paige said sincerely, allowing her hand to trail further down Emily's arm, grasping the other girls hand and giving it a soft squeeze. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I am now," Emily smiled, biting her lip softly as she watched Paige looking at her with the sweetest concern. She hesitated for a moment, before remembering that there was no reason to. If she wanted this, she could have it. She scooted closer, leaning in slowly, frowning as Paige pulled back but it wasn't enough to make her stop, leaning closer once again until her lips gently ghosted over Paige's.

_"Em," _Paige sighed as she pulled back, smiling almost in relief, resting their foreheads together. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

Emily didn't respond, looking directly at Paige before leaning forward and pressing their lips together once again, firmly this time. Paige wasn't protesting, no longer holding back. Her hand came up to cup Emily's cheek, her thumb gently brushing the skin there before moving her hand to the back of Emily's neck, softly playing with the hair there before pulling Emily closer as she deepened the kiss, Emily's arms coming up to rest around Paige's neck. Emily sighed into the kiss as she felt the hand that was resting gently on the back of her neck slowly sliding downwards as their lips moved softly against each other, Paige's hand fisting into the front of her jacket, their lips never parting as Paige tugged gently on the material, pulling Emily back into the apartment. They pulled apart briefly, Paige grinning at her before closing the door quietly, reconnecting their lips as soon as the door clicked shut. It wasn't long before Emily was being pushed up against it, the kiss growing more and more frantic, tongues meeting tongues, both girls unable to hold back now that they knew they no longer had any reason to. Emily's hands sprung back into action, running down Paige's back before coming around to smooth over Paige's sides. She hesitated for a moment, only a moment, before slipping them beneath the other girls shirt, resting her palms on Paige's hips just beneath the hem. Paige stilled, still smiling all the while, kissing Emily softly once before pulling back and staring at the other girl with a grin.

"If I asked you to stay a little longer, would you say yes?" Paige asked breathlessly, her heart hammering in her chest. She couldn't believe this was actually happening.

Emily nodded, unable to resist leaning forward to give Paige's lips a quick peck, lacing their fingers together and watching the smile that tugged onto Paige's face as she looked down at their entwined hands. She began to lead Emily back into the living room, shutting the door once again when they were inside.

"Paige, are you sure this is what _you _want?" Emily asked, suddenly remembering everything that had gone on in her life lately, her face becoming serious. "I've just got out of a four-year relationship, my life is a mess right now and I don't want to do anything that could end up hurting you…"

"Do you want to be here?" Paige asked cutting Emily off, her tone soft. "Right now? Because right now is all I care about."

"Here is the only place I want to be right now," Emily admitted, watching as Paige took a tentative step towards her.

"Good," Paige said, taking in a shaky breath, a small grin beginning to form on her face as she reached out, placing her hands on Emily's hips and pulling the other girl towards her, meeting the other girls eyes. "Because right now I just really, _really_ want to keep kissing you."

Emily bit her lip for a moment, trying to hold back a grin of her own, before she couldn't hide it any longer, the grin creeping onto her face as she closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around Paige's neck. "Then keep kissing me."


	7. Chapter 7

_I'm back! Super sorry this has taken so long. I didn't have much time to write and then somehow I managed to delete half of what I already had written, so this update turned out a little different to what I had originally intended, apologies if it doesn't flow as well as the previous chapters. I was going to cut in half but I've left it extra long, consider it an apology for the long wait. I have the next two pretty much written up, so maybe there'll be a few updates this week. Thank you as always for all the wonderful feedback, it honestly makes my day :) I hope you enjoy this update. _

**_Chapter Seven: This_**

Emily stirred, the soft sunlight creeping into the room waking her, feeling a painful crick in her neck. She tried to shift into a more comfortable position, only to be stopped as she felt something blocking her movement. Her nose brushed against soft skin, an arm unmistakably snaked around her waist. _Oh. _

She felt the blush creeping on to her cheeks, her eyelids fluttering open, finding herself snuggled tightly into Paige's side, her head tucked into the crook of the other girls neck. She closed her eyes for a moment, revelling in the warmth of the other girl, her smell, so unmistakably Paige. _Comfort_, she thought to herself; she had wracked her brain throughout most of the movie the night before, trying to put a word to the feelings she'd felt as she'd driven around aimlessly, what it was that pulled her to Paige when she couldn't face going home the night before. Paige, just by simply being there, always gave her an overwhelming sense of comfort and ease. Everything she was worried about seemed less daunting now that she was here. Waking with the knowledge that she had finally given in to her desire for the other girl made a swell of butterflies swarm in her stomach. She felt like she should be panicking now that she had woken up; she thought now that her mind wasn't clouded with want or arousal that her thoughts would have sobered; that she would realise that this was all too much too soon. Surely leaping from Ellie to Paige in the space of a week was foolish?

But then the memories of the night before crept into her mind, the worry and the panic fading as she remembered how Paige had kissed her; it hadn't taken long for the intensity to creep up and Paige was kissing her like she may never get the chance to ever again; so full of want and desire. They had tumbled back onto the couch, Paige hovering over Emily, grinning at her before their lips crashed together once again. Emily had decided within the first few minutes that Paige's kisses were insatiable; somehow she managed to drift seamlessly from kissing Emily softly, languidly, teasing her with the possibility of more; to deep, heated kisses that had left her head spinning. Paige had taken control; each time Emily felt her head begin to swim and the rising heat creeping over her body, Paige somehow managed to pull back, though their lips never parted, and the intensity would die down, only to slowly creep back up again. That, coupled with Paige's slow, calculated caresses; her hands gently ghosting along Emily's curves, now and then dipping slightly beneath the hem of her shirt before retreating to the point where the touches almost felt like teasing, drove Emily mad with frustration; but she knew there was a reason for Paige's hesitancy. When Emily had momentarily gained the upper hand her own restraint had flown out of the window instantly; she'd found herself trailing heated kisses down Paige's neck as her hands sought out the skin beneath her shirt, heat pooling in her stomach as she desperately tried to flip their positions, her hand landing on the button of Paige's jeans. Paige had pulled back, breathing heavily and her eyes blown, placing one soft kiss to the side of Emily's mouth before moving to lay beside her, albeit awkwardly on the small couch, and suggesting they slowed things down. Emily was thankful for that. Paige was aware as much as she was of the possible pitfalls of everything happening too fast. And for all Emily felt like she should worry that it might be a little _too_ fast, she couldn't bring herself to care. Not when her lips were deliciously sore from Paige's kisses and nips, not when she felt the arm around her waist tightening as Paige stirred in her sleep.

At some point throughout the night the kissing had subsided; Paige's roommate had tumbled through the corridor en-route to her bedroom and startled the pair, Emily murmuring against Paige's lips that it was probably time for her to leave. What followed was probably Emily's favourite part of the night. Paige had pouted and shook her head, the tiredness evident in her eyes as she leant forward to kiss Emily's earlobe softly, whispering a husky _"stay"_ into her ear before reconnecting their lips. Emily had never felt so wanted, and needed little convincing. The kisses had slowly died down in intensity until they drifted off into a deep sleep. Emily guessed by the faint light creeping through the blinds that it was now early morning, but the apartment remained quiet so she felt no need to leave just yet. She felt Paige stirring beside her, the girl shifting ever so slightly; inadvertently burying her nose in Emily's hair.

"Paige?" Emily whispered, softly smoothing her hand over the girls stomach as she felt Paige shifting again. "Are you awake?"

"Morning," she heard Paige mumble into her hair, the other girl moving slightly so that she could see Emily's face, offering her a timid smile. Emily watched as Paige lifted her hand, her thumb ghosting gently over Emily's bottom lip, waiting patiently for her to lean forward and press their lips together. She frowned when the kiss never came; instead she watched as Paige stood, stretching out. "Breakfast?" Paige asked with a soft smile, holding out her hand for Emily to take; the dark-haired girl happily obliging, allowing Paige to tug her to her feet and lead her into the kitchen. Paige released her hand as she took a seat at the counter.

Emily groaned as she looked at the clock, realising it was barely after 7am. "I'm sorry I woke you up so early."

"I'm sorry I kept you up so late," Paige said in response, giving Emily a small smirk. Emily blushed slightly, the look Paige was giving her making her shiver. She watched as Paige moved about the kitchen, her eyes drawn to the small patch of skin that came into view as Paige's tank rode up, her eyes quickly snapping upwards when Paige turned back to her as she opened the refrigerator door. "So what'll be Em"? Cereal, toast, bacon, pancakes, leftover pizza; all the above?" Emily looked up at Paige, the adorably goofy expression on the other girls face causing a giddy kind of warmth to rush over her. She took a moment to just take in the girl in front of her; Paige's clothes creased, her hair messy and her eyes tired; a smile tugging onto her lips as she realised how happy she was to be here; to be with Paige. "Seriously, I'll get you anything you want Em," Paige said, shuffling nervously under Emily's gaze.

"Come here," Emily said, watching Paige's eyebrow quirk as she slowly made her way around the kitchen counter where Emily had taken a seat, coming to a stop in front of her. "I want…" Emily began, hooking her thumbs into Paige's belt loops to tug her closer before trailing off as her bravado suddenly waned, suddenly feeling rather foolish.

"Em?" Paige asked, shifting forward to tentatively bring Emily's face level with hers, looking into her eyes with the sweet concern Emily was had begun to associate with Paige.

"I want you to kiss me," Emily said with a shy smile, looking away once again and letting out a nervous laugh; embarrassed slightly by her honesty. Paige's eyes widened slightly, but a small smile tugged onto her lips as she leant in, pecking Emily's lips almost chastely. Emily grinned as Paige dipped her head, shaking her own head before tangling her hands into Paige's hair and pulling her forward, wasting no time in pressing their lips together once again, firmly this time.

"This doesn't seem real," Paige said as she pulled away, he gaze fixing itself on the floor. She looked up to find Emily staring back at her and all of a sudden she felt terrified. Last night was a blur; as if it was some sort of dream she'd fallen in to. She couldn't pin-point the exact moment that she had fallen for Emily Fields. Perhaps it had been by the lake weeks ago, smiling at the memory of Emily spending the day messing about in the water with Evan and herself. It could have been a culmination of every meeting they had shared outside of Rosewood High; Paige remembering the jealousy that had consumed her when they would talk about Ellie, the flush that would creep onto her cheeks when Emily's arm grazed her own, the way Emily would occasionally stop mid-sentence with anxious embarrassment as she talked with passion about something, only to look at Paige, to trust Paige, and open up to her. For all she knew it could have been at the bar the very first night they met; she knocked an entire tray of drinks onto the floor, the majority of the contents covering her pants, but the only thing she had noticed was Emily; how beautiful the girl was standing before her. It didn't matter when it had been she decided, because it had happened, but now that she finally had a chance with Emily she began to feel slightly overwhelmed.

"Paige?" Emily asked, breaking Paige's thoughts. She looked up to see Emily looking at her in confusion, blushing as she realised she had drifted off. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Paige said with a small smile, leaning forward to gently brush Emily's hair behind her ear. "Em…why did you come here last night? I know it wasn't to hang out with me and my family."

"I don't know," Emily said; truthfully she didn't. _She just wanted to, _was her answer, but that hardly seemed good enough. There was something in the way Paige was looking at her. She looked so…vulnerable. Emily realised what could be running through Paige's mind at that moment; maybe she was worrying that she was a rebound, some sort of distraction; or maybe she wondered if Emily wanted more. "I felt devastated when Fulton said there was no places available for me, it made me panic. I went to see my Mom…and all she did was tell me I'd made a huge mistake. That I shouldn't have broken up with Ellie, I shouldn't have dropped out of school…maybe she's right..."

"Oh," She felt Paige's hands drop from her sides instantly at that; cursing her own words. _That came out wrong._

"Paige?" She said as Paige padded back over to the refrigerator, taking out some eggs. _"Paige," _she said once again, this time getting Paige to turn and face her. Emily stood, making her way over to the other girl and lacing their fingers together. "Maybe she's right about _school_. Ellie and I are over. For good. That wasn't a mistake."

"So…what about this?" Paige asked, lifting up their entwined hands, her gaze dropping to them as Emily's eyes remained on Paige's face.

"Morning," Dawn yawned, walking into the kitchen, Paige glaring at her as she took a seat at the counter. The next person that interrupted her and Emily at a crucial moment was going to end up in a body bag, she thought to herself. Dawn noticed the glare, rolling her eyes. "Keep sucking face, my mind doesn't work properly this early in the morning anyway. Where are the brats?"

"Still in bed," Paige answered, now worrying whether either of her siblings waking up to find Emily still here was a good idea.

"I should probably head home," Emily began, not giving Paige a chance to protest as she walked back into the lounge, doing her best to find the jacket that was discarded the night before.

"Sorry," Dawn said sheepishly, watching Paige's shoulders slump as Emily breezed past her and out of the room. "So…you finally got some huh? Took you long enough."

"Shut up," Paige sighed, rolling her eyes at her friend. She walked out of the room, rolling her eyes once again when her roommate winked at her. She found Emily perched on the end of the couch, her jacket on and bag in her lap. She smiled at the other girl, cautiously making her way towards Emily and taking a seat beside her. "Emily I'm sorry if…"

"I came here last night because I wanted…needed to see you," Emily cut her off, her words taking Paige by surprise. "I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know where I'm going, everything is changing and I don't know what to do about it. It's pretty scary actually. But there's just something about having you around that makes me worry a little less. The only thing I am sure about right now is how much I want you."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I want you too," Paige said, a grin tugging onto her lips when she saw a smile tugging onto Emily's face. "But you've just got out of a long relationship, like you said everything's a bit…crazy right now in your life. Maybe it's not the best idea for you to be getting involved with someone new."

"Would you rather this didn't go any further?" Emily asked, for all she knew it probably wasn't the case she was suddenly anxious that Paige had become very blasé. Emily knew she most likely seemed like a bit of a mess right now; deciding it was well within Paige's rights not to want to get involved in that.

"I want to see you again. I…I really like you Emily," Paige smiled, this time looking into Emily's eyes, doing her best to assure the girl that she definitely wanted this to go further. "I just meant if it's easier for you right now for it to not go any further, that's okay, I'll understand. If you want to just be friends, we can be friends, if you want to be friends that make out, I'm seriously into that. If you think you've made a mistake…"

"I haven't," Emily said with certainty, reaching over to lace her fingers with Paige's. "But you're right, I've only just got out of a four-year relationship and I don't know if I'm ready to start dating someone else so soon…"

"What if," Paige began, running her thumb soothingly over the back of Emily's hand as she thought about what she was going to say. "What if for now, we just leave it at you like me, and I like you. No pressure. If you wake up tomorrow and you've changed your mind…no hard feelings."

"I'm pretty sure I'm still going to like you tomorrow Paige. But no pressure sounds good," Emily smiled, relaxing slightly. Of course Paige understood her apprehension. She was thankful that Paige was willing to give her the time she needed to figure things out without flat-out refusing to see her in the meanwhile. "Could we maybe not tell Hanna anything just yet? She loves you, and if she found out this soon I think she'd…"

"Get ahead of herself before you've had the chance to figure out if I'm really what you want," Paige cut her off, nodding in understanding. Emily paused for a moment, looking at their entwined hands, thinking back to how at ease she had felt when she woke up in Paige's arms that morning. For the past month or so she had craved Paige's company, never happier than when Paige was near her, the simple action of Paige touching her making her feel safe, content. There was no reason to fight it anymore, no Ellie in the way; she knew deep down there wasn't really any doubt in her mind.

"You are what I want Paige," Emily repeated her words from earlier with certainty, watching as Paige dipped her head with a blush. "I mean it. I just want us to have the chance to figure out what this is without Hanna…"

"Renting us a U-haul?" Paige smirked, Emily nodding. "I understand." Paige smiled, brushing a stray strand of hair behind Emily's ear, her thumb trailing back down, smoothing over Emily's jaw. "Can I kiss you?"

"You don't have to ask permission Paige," Emily chuckled, tugging Paige towards her.

"Noted," Paige grinned, closing the distance between them.

* * *

Paige remembered perfectly the moment she decided it was time for her to come home.

She had been in Vancouver, working the holiday season, waking up in bed with some girl she was sort-of dating, her head woozy from copious amounts of alcohol the night before, when her phone had gone off waking the two of them abruptly. Her Mother was panicking on the other end of the line; her Father had had another heart attack and this time he wasn't going to be able to go back to work, this time he might not be leaving the hospital.

That was when she had decided to come back to Philadelphia. For the past five years she had flitted from place to place, content with being as far away as possible from her family, from Philly and all the memories it held. But hearing the fear in her Mom's voice, thinking of the worry that was sure to have taken over Evan and Caitlin, it made sense to her then, that all the fighting between them was ridiculous; she needed to mend her relationship with her family, with her Father, before it was too late. So she came home. He didn't want her visiting him in the hospital, so she stayed away. At first, he didn't want her siblings staying with her, even seeing her, so she had stayed away. It was only seeing how hard it was on her Mother, his wife, that had made him relent, granting her Mom permission to take the help Paige was offering. She'd made progress with Evan; for all he had barely seen her in five years he still adored her like he had when he was younger, and now even Caitlin had started to slowly let Paige get closer to her. But her Dad; well, she still hadn't managed to pluck up the courage to have that conversation; the memories of the last conversation they had face to face still fresh, still stinging, in her mind. She might have come home to repair their relationship, but the more she thought about it the less likely it became; the closer she was to him physically the greater the distance emotionally seemed to feel.

Like now for instance. Paige stood in the kitchen of her parents home, looking out into the back yard. She had driven Evan and Caitlin home fairly early, Emily having left before they had woken up; she insisted that she didn't want them to get the wrong idea. Her Father was sitting poolside, watching dutifully as Caitlin powered through the water. Paige had popped to the store for her Mother, and now she was back it was clear he'd wasted no time in finding an excuse to not be in the house. She could hear her Mother sighing behind her; she had only been standing there ten minutes and already she'd been scolded at least twice for not going out back and saying hello. It seemed a simple enough action, but she knew her Mother should know better than to suggest it. Bad things happened when they were alone together, she knew her Mom remembered that. Besides, her Father had no interest in seeing her; Paige knew full well he wouldn't come inside until she was gone.

"Evan tells me you have a new…_friend,_" her Mom said as Paige turned back to face her, rolling her eyes as she heard the way her Mom said _friend, _the implication obvious.

_"Friend?"_ Paige asked, having more than a slight suspicion that her Mother was referring to Emily. She wondered for a moment if perhaps Evan had caught them together throughout the night; deciding it was far more likely he had just been gushing about Emily; much like the day at the lake, he'd taken quite a shine to her.

"He said you had a girl over last night," her Mother said. "That you're…fond of her."

"My friend Emily came over, that's correct," Paige said, sighing. She had a feeling she knew where this was going, her eyes subconsciously flitting to the door.

"Is she a…." her Mom trailed off, looking at Paige expectantly. "A _special _friend?"

"I'm not ten years old Mom," Paige said dryly. After 7 years of being out, she didn't feel guilty for expecting her Mom to be able to say the word girlfriend. "And no, she's just a friend."

"Evan seems fond of her," was all her Mother said in response, trying to sound nonchalant but failing; Paige could sense more was coming, softly rubbing her temples to try to ease some of the tension that was beginning to form there.

"She's a nice person," Paige shrugged.

"Paige, you know how happy I am that you're back, and I'm especially happy that they can spend time with you," her Mother began. "But your Father would prefer it if…"

"Here we go," Paige groaned, already beginning to feel the anger rising within her at the mention of her Dad; she knew exactly what his issue was without her Mother even having to say it.

"Paige," her Mom said pleadingly, willing her to listen. "He just doesn't want Evan and Caitlin around that sort of thing…"

"What sort of thing are we talking about here Mom?" Paige asked incredulously. "Emily's a good friend. She came over and I asked her to join us. Evan likes her. Cait does too; she was a coach at her summer school, did she not mention it? What exactly am I flaunting by having her around?"

"He doesn't necessarily mean this Emily girl, I think he was talking more specifically about your…"

"Girlfriends." Paige said, spitting the word out for her, feeling a pang of hurt when her Mom seemed to flinch at the word. "Unbelievable."

"Paige…"

"No, don't," Paige said angrily, cutting her Mother off. "Do you feel the same way too? Do you think that if I had Evan or Cait around a…a girl I was seeing that it would somehow cause them irreparable damage?"

"Of course not Paige, sweetheart you know I don't care who you date as long as they treat you right."

"So you're just spouting out his bullshit then?" Paige declared pointedly, slamming her fist onto the counter as she tried to calm herself down, flinching at the pain. "Why can you never just stand up to him? He sure as hell doesn't treat _you_ right."

"Paige you know that I do my best, It's not easy for me constantly being in the middle of you two," Paige frowned at her Mother's words, feeling slightly guilty. She came home to help ease some of the weight on her Mom's shoulders, not add to it. She knew that when her Mother stood up to her Father, especially when it was to stand up for her, she often took the full brunt of his anger; Paige remembering vividly the one time he had taken it a step too far and lashed out.

"I'm sorry," Paige said with a sigh, reaching out to give her Mothers arm a quick squeeze. "But don't expect me to ever hide who I am or anyone I care about from Evan or Caitlin. Dad might want to raise them up damning me to the depths of hell but I won't let them turn out like him. Or me, for that matter."

"I'll be lucky if they're anything like you Paige," her Mother said softly, Paige feeling a swell of emotion at the woman's words, unable to meet her gaze. Paige couldn't bring herself to believe her; she hoped herself that her siblings would turn out far better than she had; manage to graduate college, enjoy High School, have their Fathers approval; to manage to be still, to not run from every obstacle.

She offered her Mother a weak smile, making her way to the door. "I'm sorry Mom."

* * *

Paige's first week of work passed by without incident. The café was small but reasonably busy throughout the day, just enough to keep her occupied without stressing her out. It was just off the highway, a steady influx of people dropping in as they left or made their way into town. The people she was working with were pleasant enough, and Shana had even made the effort to pop in now and then to check up on her. Shana's Aunt was a fairly imposing woman, but she had offered Paige the job out of good faith, and Paige hadn't seemed to have disappointed her just yet. If anything the extra cash would keep Dawn happy; Paige no longer needed to worry about meeting rent. She was surprised as she took her afternoon break to find Hanna sitting at a table in the corner, giving her a small wave and motioning for Paige to join her.

"This is a pretty long way to come for a cup of coffee Han? You missing me?" Paige joked as she took her seat, the smile fading when she noticed the usually bubbly blonde wasn't her usual happy-go-lucky self. "Are you okay?"

"I've just been to visit my Mom," Hanna said, not needing to say anymore. "We drove past and I figured we could pop in and say hi, see how your first week went."

"We?" Paige asked, Hanna motioning behind her, Paige's stomach flipping as she saw Emily making her way back from the counter. It was like she became more attractive every time Paige saw her. She was wearing a short cream dress, Paige unable to stop staring; it hugged her form perfectly and she wondered how she hadn't noticed until now that Emily had legs that went on for days. _God she is beautiful._ She realised that she was gawking as Emily took a seat at the table, managing to pull herself together and offer the girl a smile. "Hi Emily."

"Hi," Emily said, giving her a smile, _that smile, _Paige unable to stop the grin tugging onto her lips. She looked cautiously over to Hanna, but the blonde was staring dejectedly at her coffee cup, oblivious that Paige was now grinning like an idiot now that she and Emily were sitting side by side. They hadn't managed to see each other again since Saturday, only texts, and now that Emily was here it was taking everything in Paige to not lean over and kiss the other girl senseless.

"Was it bad news? Your Mom…" Paige began, biting her tongue when Emily shook her head.

"They threw out her request for probation. She has to wait another year before she can submit another one," Hanna said with a sigh. Paige didn't know the entire story; in Allentown she knew that Hanna's Mom had been sent to prison for _something, _but she'd always known better than to ask about what_, _Caleb letting her know that it wasn't something Hanna liked to talk about. The only thing she had discerned about the matter was that neither Caleb nor Hanna believed that Mrs Marin was guilty. She had a feeling that it had played a part in the demise of their relationship, but Caleb had also remained strongly silent about that topic.

"I'm sorry," Paige said for lack of a better answer, reaching out instinctively to take Hanna's hand in her own.

"Coming home really sucks," Hanna sighed, looking up to see Emily frowning at her words. "Apart from getting to see you guys of course."

"When do you head back to New York?" Paige asked; she knew that one of the main reasons Hanna was staying in town had been to wait out her Mom's appeal, Hanna having mentioned it briefly when they had met up weeks ago.

"In a couple of weeks," Hanna said, giving Paige a small smile. Paige noticed the frown tugging onto Emily's face as Hanna mentioned leaving, reaching out without a second though to give her knee a supportive squeeze. Emily tried her best to keep her face straight as she felt it. Paige worried momentarily whether the simple touch was okay or whether she had overstepped some kind of boundary as she gently brushed her thumb over the bare skin on Emily's thigh; for all they had texted non-stop they hadn't had the chance to see each other since last Saturday morning, and Paige was cautious that Emily may have had a change of heart. Her worry faded when she let her hand linger, enjoying the slight flush she could see creeping onto Emily's neck at the touch.

"Or you could just stay with us," Emily said clearing her throat, glancing to Paige with a small smile, not noticing Hanna rolling her eyes. Emily had gotten used to having her friend around 24/7 again, and was reluctant to see her leave.

"_Or _you could come with me," Hanna suggested; Emily mimicking her friends reaction from before and rolling her eyes. "You have no reason not to. You've deferred school, you don't have a girlfriend anymore…"

"I'd be leaving Spencer," Emily said, her hand coming to cover Paige's on her thigh instinctively, she didn't want to lose the contact between them. Maybe she would be leaving something else behind, if things with Paige developed.

"Excuses excuses," Hanna smirked, Paige managing a light laugh, happy to see Hanna smiling for the first time today. "She should at least think about coming out for a few months, right Paige?"

Paige looked from Hanna to Emily, her mouth flapping open and shut a few times. She had no reason to disagree with Hanna, Emily had said she wanted to defer school to travel after all. The only reason she had to say no was purely selfish; she wanted Emily to stay so that they could continue whatever it was that had started between them last Friday night. "She's right, nothing's keeping you here."

"I'll definitely visit," Emily smiled, glancing at Paige momentarily. Hanna sighed again in defeat, excusing herself to go to the bathroom.

"So…" Paige smiled at Emily, pulling her hand back from its place on Emily's thigh; now that they were alone she wasn't really sure what to say; where they stood.

"So…" Emily repeated, smiling at Paige softly. She was happy to finally have a moment alone with Paige. Not being able to see her again since Saturday had grated on her, and their near constant texting had only made her wish to see Paige grow.

"Do you think Hanna's going to be okay?" Paige asked to break the silence.

"She was pretty sure that they were letting her Mom go this time," Emily said with a frown. "She seems okay now but I'm really worried about her."

"I've been thinking about helping her find Caleb," Paige said offhandedly. Since Hanna had taken her shopping the week before it had played on her mind; she knew it still bothered Hanna not knowing where the two of them stood, how much her friend wanted to see him again, even just for closure. Paige figured that perhaps getting closure in that part of her life would offer Hanna some much-needed comfort. "Hanna keeps asking me…"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Emily said, shaking her head instantly at Paige's suggestion. "Caleb is a touchy subject Paige. I think it's best if he doesn't come back into Hanna's life."

"You don't think they should at least talk? She still loves him and I know he…"

"Exactly," Emily cut her off. "Paige, I watched her fall apart the first time he left, I don't want to see her like that again, ever…I know he's your friend, but I think it's best if Hanna keeps moving forward, not back."

"Okay," Paige relented, wondering why Emily and her friends were always so hesitant when the subject of Caleb was brought up. "You look really good today by the way," she smirked changing the subject, reaching forward to lightly tug at the hem of Emily's dress, admiring the outfit once again. _"Really fucking good_._"_

"Thanks," Emily blushed, Paige looking up and giving her a look that was pure lust. It made her gulp, most likely audibly she guessed, watching the smirk widen on Paige's face. Emily reached out, only for Paige to move away, the other girl glancing cautiously at the bathroom doors. Paige was obviously worried about Hanna catching them; Emily had asked her to keep their fledgling attraction under wraps after all. She withdrew her hand, offering Paige a shrug in apology. "You have flour all over your face. As always."

"Oh," Paige said with a blush, rubbing her hands over her cheek, trying her best to get it off.

"Here," Emily said, swatting Paige's hand away and rubbing at the small patch until it was gone. "There," she smiled letting her hand linger. Her confidence was given the boost it needed as she felt Paige leaning into her touch ever so slightly. Taking a deep breath as she pulled her hand away, she tried to decide the best way to say what she wanted to say. "So…I was kind of hoping you would have asked me out by now."

"Tell your boss you're out of paper in there," Hanna interrupted, Emily almost groaning. Why did everyone and their Mother seem hell-bent on interrupting her and Paige? She did her best to offer Hanna a smile, though she was sure her annoyance was showing.

"Hey Paige," Emily watched as Paige turned around with a smile, her own smile fading instantly as she saw who was approaching them.

"Shana, hey," Paige said with a smile, turning back to the table and motioning to Emily and Hanna. "You know Emily and Hanna right?"

"Right," Shana said, giving Hanna a smile and barely acknowledging Emily's presence at the table. _Typical_. Emily was about to scold herself internally; reminding herself there was no longer any need for her to dislike Shana so much, High School was long over and Paige was interested in her. Then Shana's hand brushed down over Paige's shoulder, coming to rest on top of Paige's hand. _And it lingered._ Emily felt a sickly feeling rising within her, swallowing it down when she remembered she didn't have to be jealous. Paige wanted her, not Shana. "We still on for dinner tonight Paige?"

_Dinner? _Emily's face fell, and it didn't go unnoticed by either Paige or Hanna.

"Uh, yeah," Paige said, offering Shana her best smile. "I'll meet you there?" Shana nodded giving Hanna and Emily a quick wave as she made her way over to the counter.

"Shana huh?" Hanna said as they watched Shana walk away; though the usual suggestive smirk wasn't plastered on her face to accompany her words. Paige followed Hanna's gaze, her eyes landing on Emily. Emily did not look impressed.

"It's just a thank you dinner," Paige said hurriedly. "It's not a…"

"McCullers! Back to work." Paige groaned, saying her goodbyes and heading to finish off the rest of her shift, the look on Emily's face playing on her mind.

* * *

Emily and Spencer looked on in amusement as Hanna traipsed from the bedroom they were sharing to living room and back, over and over; each time growing more and more irate. She was trying to choose from a number of dresses she'd bought that afternoon. After they had stopped for coffee Emily had suggested some retail therapy to cheer Hanna up before they headed home, and Hanna had went a little overboard with her spending. She'd decided once she got home that she should probably return the majority of the clothes she had bought, and was currently trying to decide which ones to keep.

Emily was glad for the distraction. Since they left Paige her head had been filled with nothing but the other girl, and her dinner tonight with _Shana. _She thought about how Shana's hand had lingered on Paige's for a little to long. She wondered what they would be doing now. Would they just go for dinner and part ways? Or would Paige take Shana home? She was worried; worried that when Paige had said there didn't have to be any pressure on them Paige hadn't been being sweet and considerate; that maybe she was simply implying that she wanted to be free to date other people. People like _Shana. _Emily felt ridiculous. _Paige hadn't even asked her on a date. _That said, she hadn't asked Paige out on a date either. She stood up with a newfound resolve; she was going to call Paige right now and set the record straight. She picked up her phone and made her way towards the bedroom, only to be stopped by Hanna before she could leave the room.

"I can't choose. _Emily…_" Hanna whined, Emily slumping back onto the sofa.

"The blue one was my favourite," Emily said with a shrug, rolling her eyes when Hanna's gaze flitted to Spencer, silently asking for her opinion. Spencer nodded in agreement, both girls laughing as Hanna sighed triumphantly, making her way back into the bedroom to change for the last time.

**_I'm about to knock on your front door. Please answer. - Paige _**

Emily waited for a moment, and sure enough, there was a knock at her front door. "I'll get it!" She said, jumping up from the couch and practically running to the front door before Spencer had the chance to move, opening it with a smile as she saw Paige standing in front of her.

"Hey," Paige smiled.

"Hey, Paige what are you…" Emily trailed off as she felt a tug on her arm, Paige pulling her out into the hallway.

"Nothing is happening with Shana," Paige said in one breath, quickly continuing when she saw Emily was about to talk. "I saw it, on your face at the café. You thought we were...but we're not. She got me the job, that's why she was there, it's her Aunts café. I took her for a thank you dinner, and it ended, and now I'm here. We're just friends. Not even friends, acquaintances…I just didn't want you to have gotten the wrong idea earlier…so, yeah. I um, came to tell you that."

"If you want to see Shana that's okay Paige," Emily shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "It's not as if we're…"

"Dating. I know. But I don't want Shana, I want you," Paige cut Emily off, lacing her fingers together with Emily's. "I'm only interested in you."

"Paige…"

"We said slow, and I can do slow but…will you go out with me tomorrow?" Paige asked as Emily closed the door slightly; she didn't want Spencer overhearing their conversation. "Just to clarify, I'm asking you on a date."

"You want to take me out on a date?" Emily asked, a smile tugging onto her face.

"Yes," Paige said with certainty. "I wanted to ask you earlier, but Hanna kind of interrupted us and then Shana was there…say yes?"

"Of course I want to go on a date with you Paige," Emily smiled, biting her lip as Paige took a step closer. She could feel her heartbeat getting faster as Paige started closing the distance between them; her eyes fixed on Paige's lips as she felt Paige's hand coming up to cup her cheek. Paige was edging closer; to Emily it felt like time had slowed down; Paige was moving too slow for her liking. She had wanted this for a week, she had craved Paige's kisses since the last time their lips had parted. She closed the distance in an instant, pressing their lips together. _Finally. _

"I've wanted to do that all week," Paige laughed lightly as she pulled away, her hands coming to rest on Emily's hips.

"Really?" Emily smiled. Paige simply nodded in response as she leant in once again. Emily worried for a second that her friends could come looking for her before she felt Paige guiding her backwards until her back hit the corridor wall. She was about to pull back, to suggest that they really shouldn't be doing this here. But then Paige's body was flush against her own, her lips parted slightly and their tongues met, and Emily forgot everything. Her friends. The hallway. Shana. Her mind was filled with nothing but Paige.

_It didn't get any better than this. _

* * *

"You look nice," Hanna said as she leant against the door frame, giving Emily a once over as she hurried around her room trying to get dressed. Paige hadn't mentioned what they would be doing on their date; for all she knew Paige was just taking her back to her apartment, or perhaps they were going to go out somewhere, she couldn't be sure. She had toyed with the idea of wearing the dress from the other day, Paige had seemed to like it. In the Emily decided to play it safe, dressing in some tight jeans and a smart top, dressing it up ever so slightly just incase they would be going anywhere more formal, but comfortable enough for a more casual evening. By the sounds of it her outfit had Hanna's approval at least.

"Thanks," she said distractedly, looking at the clock on her beside table, realising in her haste it was only 7 o'clock.

"Where are you going?" Hanna asked again, Emily checking she had everything in her bag as she made her way out into the hallway, Hanna watching her expectedly.

"I'm just…going for dinner, with my Mom," she winced a little as the words came out of her mouth, cursing herself for feeling the need to lie once again. Last Saturday morning Hanna had instantly assumed Emily had stayed over at her Mother's house; knowing that the older woman was feeling lonely now that Emily's Dad had returned to Texas, and Emily went along with it; after all Hanna had practically gifted her a perfect excuse. She had been certain when she had arrived home that day that it was written all over her face; she had spent the best part of the night making out with Paige McCullers, and a good part of the morning too. That's when the worry finally set in; scenarios started playing out in her mind; she would enter the apartment, they would know where she had been instantaneously, then Spencer would berate her, scolding her impulsiveness, reminding her it had only been a week since she had left Ellie, that her actions had been rash. Questions would start to arise about her relationship with Paige that she hadn't even had time to contemplate the answers to. And then there was Hanna; knowing Hanna Emily knew she would probably become overly ecstatic and start planning the McCullers-Fields wedding, steamrolling so far ahead into the future without giving Emily the chance to consider what exactly it was that she wanted from Paige, what Paige would want from her. Keeping it under wraps until they were a little more certain about where things were going seemed like the best bet.

"Do you always dress like pure sex for dinner with your Mom?" Hanna said with a smirk, Emily's face falling as she realised she was busted. She looked nervously over her outfit, wondering now Hanna had mentioned it if it was too much. "Relax, I'm just teasing you! Say Hi from me okay?" Emily gave her friend a small nod, her phone buzzing to let her know Paige was downstairs. She waved her friends goodbye, checking her outfit one last time before making her way out of the building.

She recognised Paige's car parked across the street, Paige leaning against the hood, Emily thankful to find that she was dressed in similarly casual, though undoubtedly sexy, attire. Paige had a way of making the simplest outfits attractive Emily noted, watching Paige stand as she saw Emily approaching. She was greeted with a smile, Paige pulling open the passenger door and allowing Emily to climb inside. "Hey," she grinned, biting her lip as she looked over to Emily, her eyes not so subtly raking over her form.

"Hi," Emily said, returning the grin, taking a moment to admire how beautiful Paige looked, her face illuminated only by the streetlights as she drove off. "So, what are we doing tonight?" She asked, a slight hint of nervousness creeping over her.

"I figured we could drive a little," Paige said cryptically, Emily quirking an eyebrow as Paige gave her shrug. "I have a place in mind, it just might take a little while to get there," she added to reassure Emily slightly.

"Okay," Emily said, settling back into her seat and reaching over to lace her fingers together with Paige's, delighting in the contented sigh that escaped Paige's lips. "So, are you going to tell me where we're going?" Emily asked, looking over to see Paige smiling at her, though she thought she could see a slight hint of nervousness in the other girls eyes.

"You'll just have to wait."

* * *

"Congo Falls, Ocean City…New Jersey?" Emily read the sign aloud as they pulled up at the miniature golf course, turning to Paige in surprise. "You drove us all the way to New Jersey to play miniature golf?" Emily asked as she glanced around, looking up at the huge sign, the jungle themed decor, with an added giant King Kong for good measure. She reached out to take Paige's hand once again as she made her way towards her, missing the contact already since they climbed out of the car.

"It's not just any miniature golf. There's three course's in this place, and one of them is a mineshaft. This is like, the best mini-golf ever." Paige said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. Now that they had arrived the 'date' she had come up with seemed far lamer than it had when she had first thought of it. She remembered driving out here once when she was younger, a rare day when her Father hadn't been working or training her. Just the two of them, it was a fond memory, and when it came to her Dad they were few and far between. "I remembered you saying that you'd only ever left Pennsylvania once to visit your Dad's army base, so I figured you could tick Jersey off your list and we could have a round or two…I'm so sorry; this seemed way cooler in my head."

Emily couldn't help but smile at how adorably nervous Paige had become, or how thoughtful Paige's 'date' was, letting out a small chuckle at the pout on Paige's lips. "It's very sweet of you."

"You don't think it's lame?" Paige said, looking at Emily sceptically. "Seriously just say…if you want we can just go make out in the back seat of my car? The parking lot is pretty dead."

"Tempting," Emily said with a small chuckle as Paige wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "It's perfect Paige, come on. I'm going to kick your ass."

"You wish," Paige smirked, leading Emily to the entrance.

* * *

Paige had been right, Emily thought, as far as miniature golf went this was a pretty stellar course. She had initially been nervous about what it would be like to actually go on a date with Paige; now they were here she realised she needn't have, Paige was as easy to be around as ever; Emily and Paige laughing and joking as they made their way around the course. Emily was losing, badly, and Paige was in her element; her competitiveness showing and Emily wondered whether this was how Paige had been when she was a swimmer.

"Just say at anytime you know," Paige said, smirking at Emily from the end of the hole; Emily frowning as once again she over hit her ball. "I'll take my victory, let you keep your dignity. Agree I'm the winner now, and I'll take you for an ice cream, call it a conciliation prize?"

"I'm not a quitter McCullers," Emily said as she concentrated, hitting the ball softly and letting out a small squeak in satisfaction as she putted it.

"I admire that," Paige said with a smirk as she laced their hands together, leading Emily to the next tee. Emily couldn't help but smile; throughout the night Paige had made a point of getting close to Emily at every possibility; Emily guessing Paige was just as happy as she was that they no longer had to hold back around each other. Paige made easy work of the next hole, putting her ball in 3 shots. Emily frowned as she looked at the complicated set of obstacles before her. There was a helicopter, complete with spinning blades, and a small waterfall to manoeuvre around. Paige grinned as she noticed Emily studying the course, stepping closer to speak. "You're still losing pretty badly. You sure you don't want to throw in the towel?"

"Maybe I just need you to give me a few tips," Emily said with a quirk of the eyebrow, enjoying watching Paige's cocky grin grow wider, Emily beckoning her over until Paige was standing behind her. She slowly snaked her arms around Emily's waist with a small laugh, allowing one hand to rest on Emily's stomach as she other came to rest on top of Emily's hand wrapped around the club.

"Like this," Paige said softly, brushing the hair from Emily's face as she spoke, her hot breath against Emily's earlobe causing her to shiver. She used her hand to guide Emily, swinging the club together, the ball safety passing by the waterfall. "Something tells me you only said that to get me closer to you."

"You're very sure of yourself," Emily said keeping her tone even, not wanting to inflate Paige's ego any more just yet, Paige making no attempt to move away. She could feel Paige's lips lingering beneath her ear, her breath on her neck, the change in the air plain to both of them. Emily felt unable to stop herself as she sank back slightly into the other girls arms, revelling in the feeling of their bodies being so close together. _This felt so good_, she thought to herself.

"Are you telling me I'm wrong?" Paige asked huskily, placing a soft kiss behind Emily's ear; Emily feeling the smirk on Paige's lips; the other girl obviously feeling the shiver her kiss had caused. Paige couldn't help herself, placing another kiss just below where she had left the previous one, letting her lips linger a little longer this time and revelling in the way Emily's body responded; the dark-haired girl releasing a shaky breath, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up.

"I'd be lying if I said this didn't feel good," Emily sighed, feeling Paige smiling into her neck as soft lips met her skin once again, this time ending the kiss with a little nip, smirking to herself as she heard Emily let out a soft groan. She continued her movements until she found Emily's pulse point, pulling back slightly with a grin as Emily released another small whimper at the loss of contact. She had a feeling there was a queue forming behind them but couldn't bring herself to care. Emily felt amazing; at some point her hand hand had left Emily's golf club and come to rest on her hip, pulling the other girl flush against her.

"Let's go," Emily said breathily before pulling away, lacing her fingers together with Paige's and practically dragging her in the direction of the next tee; she wanted to get the game out-of-the-way as quickly as possible so she could get Paige alone.

"In a hurry Em?" Paige teased, her stomach flipping at the look Emily shot back at her.

* * *

Paige had barely managed to put the car in park before Emily was leaning over, the grip she'd had on Paige's hand throughout the ride home loosening as she quickly unbuckled her belt, her hands tangling in Paige's hair as she crashed their lips together. Paige's hands came up to the nape of Emily's neck, returning the kiss wholeheartedly; they kissed slowly; Paige doing her best to pull Emily as close as she possibly could. Emily pulled away with a small peck as she rested their foreheads together, her fingers tracing along Paige's jaw as she smiled. "I've wanted to do that all day." Paige didn't respond, simply leaning in once again, still thanking her lucky stars she could do this now; kiss Emily without having to worry about it being the wrong thing. She deepened the kiss, softly nipping Emily's bottom lip, smoothing it over with her tongue and asking for entrance. Their tongues met, Paige feeling the familiar flush of heat creeping over her skin. She wanted more, needed more, always.

Emily felt Paige's hands at the back of her neck attempting to tug her even closer, realising that Paige was feeling the same desperation she was. Pulling back for a moment she glanced around quickly, checking that the street was empty before clumsily clambering across the centre console and straddling Paige's lap. Paige's eyes widened in surprise, but before Emily had the chance to panic Paige was adjusting the seat backwards, tugging Emily flush against her as she crashed their lips together once more. Emily moaned into Paige's mouth, the feeling indescribable, Paige's hands gripping her waist tightly, one hand moving tentatively to Emily's sides, slipping beneath her shirt and resting her palm on the warm skin beneath it. Emily bit down on Paige's lip in response, giving Paige the confidence to move, her other hand mirroring her actions on Emily's other side as she softly brushed her fingertips against Emily's bare skin. Emily pulled away to let out a breathy sigh, Paige taking the opportunity to resume her exploration of Emily's neck from earlier; this time going straight for Emily's pulse point, firmly running her tongue over the flesh. Emily's hand came up to tangle in Paige's hair, holding her in place.

"I want you," she said shakily; this felt too good, she had waited to long, she was no longer worried about going slow. She tugged Paige back toward her, reconnecting their lips. Her hands found their way beneath Paige's shirt, revelling in the feel of the girls soft skin, now slightly sweaty from their vigorous make out. Paige began to slow the kiss down, her hands slipping out from beneath Emily's shirt, coming to rest on Emily's hips as she reduced the kiss to light nips and gentle pecks. Emily pulled away slowly, both Paige and herself panting as she rested their foreheads together. She giggled with embarrassment as she realised how easily she had managed to get carried away; Paige's lips, Paige's touch sending her head into a fog of arousal.

"We should slow down," Paige said as she finally caught her breath, looking up to see Emily blushing before burying her head in the crook of Paige's neck to hide her face. Paige stroked her arms down Emily's back soothingly. "I want this to be…"

"Paige?" Emily asked, pulling back to look into the other girls eyes as Paige trailed off.

"I just…" Paige paused again, doing her best to swallow the words down. She had promised Emily in the beginning that there would be no pressure, but already she could feel her resolve wavering. She had liked Emily for _so_ long; the thought of saying anything to scare the other girl away playing on her mind, but she definitely wanted, needed this to continue. "Whatever this is that we're doing, I want to do it right."

Emily leant forward, softly pressing her lips to Paige's, happy that Paige cared so much about not rushing; she had requested it after all. "So do I. Sorry, I got a little carried away." Emily brushed their lips together once more, once, twice, before sighing and pulling away, climbing back into the passenger seat and doing her best to smooth down her clothes. "I've had a great night Paige."

"When can I see you again?" Paige asked as she finally caught her breath; she no longer cared if she seemed overly keen, she had already spent too much time trying to deny her attraction to the other girl and had no intention of doing so any longer.

"As soon as possible." Emily said with a shy grin, leaning across the console, unable to stop kissing Paige for very long. "Tomorrow too soon?"

"I'm uh…busy," Paige said vaguely, reaching out to take Emily's hand in her own as she saw the other girl frown. "Come over Monday? Dawn's away for a few days, we can have a quiet night in?"

"I like the sound of that," Emily grinned, leaning forward to kiss Paige once again.

* * *

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. And now she was getting nearer to her destination, with Emily's words playing on her mind, she was beginning to think this was a terrible mistake. Emily had warned her against it. She hadn't thought of asking why. She should have asked why.

It was too late now to turn back around.

She walked back up to the familiar house, noticing it hadn't changed one bit since she had left years ago. She knocked on the door, her anxiety creeping up, only to feel a smile pulling onto her lips when she saw his familiar face smiling back at her, not having a second to react before she was being engulfed into a tight hug.

_"Caleb."_


	8. Chapter 8

_Update! This was sort of just meant to set up the next chapter, yet still somehow it's managed to turn out really long. I think I'm incapable of keeping things brief. Anyway, thank you as always for the faves, follows and especially reviews; they're all so lovely and I can't say thank you enough for your kind words. I hope you enjoy :)_

* * *

**_Chapter 8: Interruptions _**

The house looked smaller than she remembered. Caleb had taken her out back and she hadn't failed to notice as she walked through the house they once shared that it was in a state of disrepair; her eyes discovering each and every mark on the cold white walls and she found herself trying to remember whether she had left any of them behind. Paige hadn't noticed it before, how small the house really was. When they had lived here together there had always seemed to be a constant stream of people coming and going, the house was always full; if someone had nowhere else to go, they came here, and they all seemed to have fit in with room to spare. Looking up at it now from her spot on the decking, it barely looked big enough for the two of them.

"This place is an absolute shit hole." Paige said bluntly, her eyes still fixed on the house.

Caleb recoiled back in mock offence, before smirking as he took a swig of his beer and shrugged. "I haven't settled in yet. Whoever was here after we left wasn't exactly clean." Paige smiled as she looked at her friend. She had been apprehensive the nearer she'd got to her destination earlier, but after very little time in his company that apprehension had instantly disappeared. She had missed him; she didn't realise how much until he was sitting beside her now. He looked just like she remembered him, having last seen him over a year ago whilst passing through Cali; long scraggy hair and trademark smirk. "I'm fixing it up. I just haven't been here long enough to make any significant improvements."

"What made you come back here?" Paige asked. She decided to put off telling him about Hanna and how they were becoming close friends once again for a while longer; for all she'd kept in touch with Caleb intermittently she didn't want to bulldoze over any life he may have set up whilst they were apart by bringing the past.

"California is great, but I left a lot of stuff behind here that I need to take care of," Paige nodded, deciding to just come out and ask if he was referring to Hanna, only to be cut off. "What about you? I distinctly remember you telling me you'd never come back to Pennsylvania even if your life depended on it."

"Family trouble," Paige shrugged, Caleb giving her a knowing look. Caleb was the first person she had turned to when everything with her Dad had turned sour after dropping out at Pittsburgh; he'd been a solid friend to rely on while she fell apart. "My Dad had another heart attack. It's left him all kinds of messed up. My Mom needs the help. Well, she asked for it and I…it was time to come back."

"Did you…"

"It wasn't my fault," Paige interjected. "This time. I wasn't there."

"I was going to ask did you two bury the hatchet?" Caleb said with a small laugh. Paige took a swig of her beer to mask her embarrassment. Of course Caleb wasn't asking if she'd given him the heart attack. "I take it you haven't spoken to him again yet?"

"I can't," Paige shook her head with certainty. "Not yet. Besides, he isn't exactly dying to see me."

"You've come home," Caleb began, Paige turning to meet his gaze. "That's a start."

"I guess," Paige shrugged. Caleb knew better than anyone why she was so afraid to face her Father. "If it ends the way it did last time…"

"It wasn't your fault the first time Paige," Caleb said with a sympathetic smile. He used to tell her that all the time. After Paige dropped out of college, she had returned home, and it had ended a lot worse than she imagined it would. She shouldered a lot of blame for what happened back then. It weighed her down, so she went off the rails, confused about where she was going. Caleb had taken her in. Listened to her, and time and time again when she would frequently put herself down, Caleb would make her pull herself back up. She smiled at him thankfully; she was glad that the closeness had remained after all this time.

"I'm glad you're back," Paige grinned, Caleb offering her a warm smile. "We shouldn't have left it this long to see each other again."

"Well I guess were in luck," Caleb smiled warmly. "Now we've both decided to stop running around, maybe we can make up for lost time?"

"I like the sound of that."

* * *

Emily shuffled on her Mom's front porch, old Mrs Mallard waving at her from the window next door. The nights were getting a little colder as September neared, and Emily was starting to regret not wearing a jacket. She knocked again, slightly impatiently this time. She hadn't bothered to bring her key. Her Mom opened the door eventually, appearing a little flustered.

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked as her Mother ushered her inside, worry creeping over her; her Mom being antsy was never a good sign. "Is Dad..."

"He sends his love. And he wants you to call him," her Mom answered, giving Emily a pointed look. Emily nodded sheepishly; she hadn't gotten around to calling her Father to let him know about Med School or Ellie personally, though she was sure her Mom had done that for her.

"Something smells good," Emily smiled as she entered the house.

"Spiced pork roast," her Mother said with a smile, still standing awkwardly in the hallway much to Emily's confusion; practically body-blocking Emily from making her way into the dining room.

"That's Ellie's favourite," Emily said with a frown; her Mom surely knew that. Once she had made her own recipe pork for them over a winter break, and Ellie had loved it. Much to Emily's delight at the time, her Mom had always done her best to have some ready for when the two of them would visit together. It was the little things like that that showed Emily how much her Mother had grown; Emily happy that after struggling to accept her sexuality in her teens her Mom had been so eager to welcome someone she'd loved with open arms.

"Well yes," her Mother began, avoiding her daughters gaze. "About that. We have a guest for dinner…"

"Who?" Emily asked, realisation creeping over as she watched her Mom smiling sheepishly. "Ellie?" Emily exclaimed, doing her best to keep her voice down. She could feel her blood beginning to boil as her Mom didn't bother to deny it. "Why would you invite Ellie? Mom we broke up two weeks ago. For good!"

"We ran into each other at the store yesterday," Pam began, Emily feeling her temper rising further as her Mother's tone remained calm. The last person she wanted to see again was Ellie. They hadn't spoken since the last time they'd seen each other, and Emily, sadly she thought to herself, hadn't minded. "I know you probably don't want to see her…"

"I don't!" Emily agreed, her voice raising ever so slightly. "Mom if you think…"

"She has an interesting proposition for you. I think you should hear her out." Emily shook her head, still incensed that her Mother would do such a thing. She contemplated walking out the door, but relented under Pam's gaze, allowing her Mom to lead her into the dining room. Whatever this proposition was, she thought, it better be good.

* * *

Paige groaned; her phone was blaring on the ground causing her to jolt awake, and she realised now that Caleb's place no longer had curtains. She took a moment to berate herself for not feeling the need to move into her old room last night and deciding to sleep on the couch. The sunlight blared through the windows, making her wince, her eyes sensitive to the light. Perhaps they overdid the beer, she thought to herself. Her phone eventually rang off, and Paige decided that it was probably her Mom or Dawn, and that both of them could wait until later. She rolled onto her front, her nose crinkling in disgust at the musty smell of the sofa, before sighing and tentatively sitting up. Caleb appeared in the doorway, thankfully looking as bad as Paige felt; but also thankfully carrying two plates of what appeared to be a full-english breakfast. "You are a _god_."

"When I said like old times…I didn't mean this part," he groaned, plonking down beside Paige on the couch and handing her one of the plates. They dug in enthusiastically, Paige groaning through a mouthful of food as her phone begun blaring once again. Before she could ignore it Caleb reached out to hand it to her, raising his eyebrow questioningly as he caught sight of the caller ID. Paige answered it hurriedly when she saw the name.

"Emily? Hey, hi. Is everything okay?" She couldn't hide the excitement in her voice; it had only been two days and already she was dying to see the other girl.

"I am standing at your front door with bagels. I take it you're not home?" Paige could hear the slight twang of disappointment in Emily's voice, frowning at the thought of Emily standing at her front door to no answer.

"I'm so sorry Em, that sounds amazing but yeah I'm uh…I'm not home," Paige sighed. For all it was wonderful to see Caleb, and for all he made a mean breakfast; breakfast delivered by the one and only Emily Fields wasn't something she was happy to be missing. Emily had gotten up extra early, driven for an hour and knocked on her door just so they could eat breakfast together? Paige felt a bashful grin tugging onto her face. "I had to work early. Can I make it up to you?" She could see Caleb watching her out of the corner of her eye; an amused smirk plastered on his face as he studied her, chewing a mouthful of food.

"Don't be, I should have called beforehand," Emily said apologetically. "Are we still on for tonight?"

"You bet!" Paige grinned, remembering the quiet night in they had planned for that evening. "Come by whenever you want okay? I'll be home this afternoon. I can't wait to see you."

"Likewise, see you tonight," she could hear the smile in Emily's voice, a smile of her own tugging onto her face as the line went dead. Paige set her phone down on the coffee table, turning to find Caleb staring at her questioningly. "What?"

"Your girlfriend?" He asked nonchalantly, taking another bite of bacon as he continued to stare at Paige.

"Not exactly," Paige answered truthfully. She and Emily were…whatever they were. It was far too soon to be thinking about the G word.

"You know…I used to know a girl called Emily Fields," Caleb said with a quirk of his eyebrow, setting his empty plate down on the floor before turning his attention back to Paige.

"Was she from Rosewood?" Paige said dryly; she knew Caleb had seen the caller ID and knew that they were talking about the same girl, but decided to play along with him for the moment.

"She was," he replied, nodding slowly. "Coincidence, huh?"

"It's the one you're thinking of," Paige said, dropping her gaze to the floor guiltily. She had held off on the subject of Hanna the night before; once they had begun to catch up she decided to simply enjoy Caleb's company, the laughing and the joking, without getting serious and bringing up Hanna. Emily's apprehension about finding Caleb was still fresh in her mind; perhaps the break-up was messier than she'd initially thought; who knows what sort of can of worms she would open by mentioning Caleb's ex-girlfriend. Caleb was looking at her expectantly. "I met her through…well, you know who."

"You can say her name Paige, she's not Voldemort," Caleb snarked, smirking at his friends obvious discomfort.

"Hanna," Paige said, not failing to notice how Caleb frowned when she spoke the name. "I ran into her a few months back. We've hung out a few times, she's back for the summer. Emily and I are friends too, but uh…I guess we're a little more than that now. It's pretty new, that part."

"Emily huh?" Caleb shook his head. "So she's not your girlfriend but…"

"We're…involved," Paige nodded. "It was a long time coming….but still, we've only been out once or twice."

"I hope you're not going to mess Emily around," Caleb said, Paige's face scrunching up in disgust at the accusation. His words surprised Paige. She had expected him to be mad about keeping her friendship with Hanna a secret, not to get a warning about treating Emily right. "She went through a lot when she was younger. Just like Hanna did."

"I'm not going to…I really like Emily," Paige said defensively. She was aware Caleb probably remembered her as someone who was fairly careless when it came to her girlfriends, but that was at a different time and she had changed. It wasn't hard for her to recognise that Emily was worth holding on to. "I'm not stupid Caleb. You've met Emily, you must get it? She's…"

_"Emily,"_ he said, sitting back and smirking at Paige. "I get it."

"I'm terrified." Paige admitted, letting out a sigh. She couldn't talk to Dawn about how she felt because Dawn teased too much, and she couldn't talk to Hanna about it because Emily had asked her not to. After those two were taken out of the equation she couldn't really think of anyone else to turn to. She looked up to Caleb, thankful that he was back, and decided that she could pick his brain for advice. "She was dating someone else when we met. I couldn't help myself though, I couldn't keep away even though it was torture being around her…but they're over and she likes me back and now…I can have her. But I'm terrified that if we take things further she'll change her mind. That it'll turn out I'm just…a mistake or a quick fling, and she'll go back to her doctor girlfriend. And the fact it's scaring me scares me more because I have never felt this strongly for someone, so soon. We've been on one date for gods sake…but she's just so…"

"You're really into her huh?" He mused, cutting off Paige's rambling and patting her on the shoulder. "Don't worry so much. The Emily I remember didn't do flings."

"People change," Paige sighed, thinking about the amount of change Emily was currently undergoing in her life. "I'm not good at this Caleb, I think I can be charming if I try…but actually _dating _someone? I've never been very good at that…I don't think I've actually ever..."

"People change," Caleb said, throwing her words from earlier back at her. "Just relax will you? She was at your door this morning? Unannounced? You're obviously doing something right. What does Hanna think?"

"Hanna doesn't know," Paige said, not failing to notice the slight hesitation in Caleb's voice as he spoke Hanna's name. "I know she's all for it though, she tried to set us up. Kind of. Emily doesn't want her to know with it all being so new. Incase Hanna…"

"Started planning your nuptials." Caleb finished off her sentence for her with a fond smile. "Well, that's a good thing. Hanna, Emily and the rest…those four girls, they live and die by each other. If her friends don't like you…you're done for."

"I think they like me," Paige smiled. She looked over to Caleb, frowning as she noticed he'd drifted off into his own world. "You still haven't asked me."

"Is she okay?" He asked after a moment, his tone giving away his vulnerability.

"She's okay. She really misses you," Paige said, watching as he shook his head disbelievingly. "She actually fake set me up with Emily when we first met, just because she wanted to know how you were. And trust me, that almost ended _badly. _It was a big risk."

"Does she know you're here?" he asked, somewhat seriously.

"No," Paige responded. "And I don't have to tell her you're in Allentown again. If you want to see her, I know where she's staying. I also know that she wants to see you. But if that ship has sailed…my lips are sealed."

"I can't see her just yet," he replied, cutting Paige of quickly before she could ask him why. "I need you to help me find something first."

* * *

Paige leant against the counter and simply watched in awe as Emily moved about the kitchen. She was only washing dishes, and for all Paige had done her best to persuade Emily there was no need to, she was kind of glad Emily had been so persistent. She was only washing dishes, but she made it look so interesting. Each movement was so meticulous and graceful and Paige could not believe that they were actually here right now. That for once ignoring her common sense; the common sense that had told her NOT to keep seeing Emily all those weeks ago, to run away, that this was a lost cause, had paid off.

"Paige?" Emily asked, breaking Paige from her thoughts, the girl blushing in embarrassment now that Emily was facing her. "I asked if you had any popcorn? For the movie?"

"Right, the movie," Paige smiled, bending down to look for the kernels in the cupboard at her feet. "I…don't. Sorry Em. Chips?"

"It's okay…um Paige? Are you okay? You seem a little out of it tonight." Emily asked. Paige nodded her head genuinely in response. At first she was worried that she would accidentally let slip about Caleb's return, but then it had become all about Emily. The way that she talked over dinner, how adorable she looked when she ate. The way Paige felt a swell of…she couldn't even name the feeling that she got when she managed to make the other girl laugh or blush or smile. Knowing that she had and effect, any kind of positive effect on Emily made her feel so lucky. She made her way over to where Emily was standing; tentatively resting her hands on the other girls hips.

"I'm good. _Really _good," Paige grinned, smiling as Emily's hands came up to smooth over her forearms softly. "I was just thinking about you. You're so…beautiful. It's very distracting."

"Paige…" Emily blushed, Paige silencing whatever protest Emily was about to offer by pressing their lips together softly. Initially she had wanted to wait to kiss her; this was only their second 'date', if they could call it that, and she knew that once she started kissing Emily it was going to be hard to stop. It was intoxicating. Her hands came up to cup Emily's face, unable to stop herself deepening the kiss. Emily was all-consuming. There was something about being around her that drew Paige to her; she had to be closer, touching her, always. And now, finally, she no longer felt the need to fight the urges inside her. She moaned into Emily's mouth as she felt their tongues meet, backing her roughly into the counter. "Paige," Emily breathed out as she pulled her lips away, Paige taking a step back as she realised she'd gotten carried away. She looked up to see Emily's blouse untucked, her lips red and her cheeks flushed.

"Movie?" Paige said with a smile, turning to the counter behind her to retrieve the chips before lacing her fingers together with Emily's and leading her into the living room.

"Paige I actually wanted to talk to you about something," Emily began as she sat down. Paige noticed the slight nervousness in Emily's posture; she was sitting too rigidly to be comfortable.

"Is everything okay?" Paige asked sweetly, taking a seat beside Emily, mirroring her stance on the edge of the couch.

"I had dinner with Ellie last night," Emily began, and Paige felt her stomach drop. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she'd expected this to happen, for Emily to change her mind, and now she felt foolish. Since their date on Saturday night and since talking to Caleb about it this-morning, she had allowed herself to think that this was potentially something special, she'd felt it even before Emily had left Ellie; they had an undeniable connection. Paige had heard Dawn loud and clear all those weeks ago; she needed to stop flitting from city to city and from girl to girl. To find someone who was really worth taking a risk on. Emily, in Paige's opinion, was that girl. But now, as Emily spoke, she realised that perhaps for Emily the connection went no further than basic attraction. "Hey," Emily said softly, as if she read Paige's mind. "It's not like that."

"What is it like?" Paige asked; there was no accusation in her tone, she guessed if Emily was to pick up on anything, it would be the fear laced in her voice.

"My Mom invited her over," Emily said, reaching over to take Paige's hand. Paige let out a breath she didn't realise she'd even been holding once she felt the contact. "Ellie thinks she can get me a job working for her Dad."

"That's nice of her," Paige said, trying her best to keep the slight hint of animosity out of her voice. "You are looking for one."

"It would mean seeing her a lot more than I think I'm ready to," Emily said, relaxing slightly; she manoeuvred herself until she was leaning against the back of her couch. Paige tugged Emily towards her, noticing the furrow in Emily's brow, until Emily's head came to rest on Paige's chest. She trailed her hand soothingly up and down the length of Emily's arm; alternating between drawing little shapes with her fingertips and slowly smoothing over the skin with the flat of her palm. She could feel goosebumps surfacing across Emily's skin, taking it as a good sign_._ "It's a good opportunity; he has his own private clinic, I wouldn't be working with athletes like I'm used to, but it'd look good on any application I decide to make in the future."

"You should take it," Paige said, her words causing Emily to turn and face her; her eyes told Paige she needed to elaborate. "It's very hard these days to find a job doing something you actually like to do. It sounds like a good opportunity. And it'll be hard seeing your ex now and then, but you'll see her again eventually. Especially if your Mom is bringing her round for dinner on a regular basis."

"I'm pretty sure Ellie talked my Mom into that," Emily sighed at the thought. She knew her Mom liked Ellie, but she was fairly certain her Mom wouldn't go as far as to try to force them back together. "She still loves me, if she thinks this is some kind of way to win me back…"

"Tell her otherwise," Paige cut her off, shifting so they were face to face once again, reaching out to brush a stray strand of hair behind Emily's ear. Her eyes focused in on Emily's lips, so soft, so near…Paige quickly snapped her focus back up to Emily's own eyes; now wasn't the time to be getting distracted. "If you say yes, you don't owe her anything but a thank you. You're not hers anymore Em, you're your own person. If she gets the wrong impression, tell her again that she needs to move on, and offer her the space to do so. Moving is on is hard, I'm sure, but I don't think you're going to lead her on. You'll be fair on her, because that's what you're like. And if she still can't take no for an answer then I'm sorry but I think I'll have to kick her ass. I don't know if you've noticed, but I can be pretty competitive. And if it's you we're fighting over…I'm going to win. No contest."

"You've got no competition, trust me," Emily chuckled, Paige simply giving her a playful warning glare. "Thank you. You always know what to say," she sighed contentedly, resuming her position from earlier and snuggling into Paige's side.

"What are you going to do?" Paige asked, her hand coming to rest on Emily's hip as she tugged her closer.

"I don't have to decide until Friday. Right now I'm going to lay here, and watch a movie with you," Emily said, leaning up to peck Paige's lips lightly as Paige pressed play on the remote.

* * *

It hadn't taken long for the movie to be forgotten; the credits had begun rolling long ago and Paige couldn't remember how much of the film they'd actually managed to see. At some point throughout the film Emily had shifted, and Paige, unable to stop herself, had leant forward to kiss the exposed skin of her shoulder. Then, unable to help it once again, there had been another kiss, and another, until somehow their lips had connected and they had ended up in the position they were in now.

Emily was in control; Paige finding herself trapped beneath the other girl as Emily straddled her waist; the kisses Emily was trailing down her neck making her head spin and setting her skin ablaze. Her resolve to take things slow wavered dangerously when she felt Emily nibbling at her collarbone, unable to stop herself letting out a small moan. _Don't move too fast. Don't move to fast. _Paige repeated the words like a mantra in her head, desperately trying to keep her cool. It was an almost impossible task, thanks to Emily's lips warm against her skin, her fingertips slowly grazing the back of Paige's neck, and the other hand fisted into Paige's shirt to steady herself. Paige tugged Emily back up so their lips met once again, missing the sensation. It was intoxicating, kissing Emily. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest, her hands that we're resting on Emily's hips sliding upwards slowly. When they came into contact with the skin just beneath the hem of Emily's shirt, her brain almost short circuited as she realised there was so much left to see; to touch; to kiss. If kissing Emily Fields was intoxicating, then god help her when things went further.

Paige sat up, one hand wrapping around Emily's waist to steady her; Emily finding the space she needed to slip her hands beneath Paige's shirt, raking her nails down Paige's back. Emily was gone, Paige could tell by the slight desperation in her movements. That was her resolve done for. She pulled back slightly, her breathing uneven as she reached forward until she was holding the first button of Emily's blouse in-between her fingertips. She leant in, kissing Emily softly once, before pulling back again and looking into Emily's eyes, asking somewhat desperately she was sure, for permission to go ahead. Emily nodded and Paige slowly undid the first two buttons, never breaking eye contact. She leant forward to reconnect their lips once again; kissing Emily slowly as both hands moved to cup Emily's ass, before using her knees to push up and tilt them forwards until she was hovering above Emily; the kiss breaking as Emily's back hit the couch. They both took a few seconds to catch their breath, Emily's hands still resting on the skin of Paige's back.

"Spend the night?" Paige asked, her voice husky. Emily nodded slowly before rearing up to capture Paige's lips once again, their tongues meeting instantly. Paige kept the place slow; she needed all of her concentration as she shifted all of her weight on to one hand while the other resumed the now not so easy task of unbuttoning Emily's blouse; fumbling with each button as she tried to focus on the kiss. She felt Emily slide a hand out from under her own shirt, the kiss deepening further as it moved down to cup the back of Paige's thigh, pulling the other girl flush on top of her. Emily had to break the kiss to let out a moan as she felt Paige's thigh pushing into her centre.

"_Ugh,_ if this is what I'm going to be greeted with when I get home from now on, you're moving out," Paige groaned and pulled away, Dawn's voice coming from the doorway. Emily sat up sheepishly and offered Paige's unamused roommate a small wave, her eyes widening as she realised Paige had managed to get her top unbuttoned completely.

"You remember Dawn, Emily?" Paige said, trying her best to not let her eyes focus on the exposed skin of Emily's stomach or the black fabric of her bra. Emily nodded, saying a quick hello as she fumbled with the buttons; frantically trying to fasten them once again. Dawn gave her a quick nod of acknowledgement, smirking at the girl before signalling for Paige to follow her into the kitchen. "I'll be right back," Paige said, giving Emily a quick peck before making her way into the next room.

"Do you mind?" Paige asked exasperatedly, watching as Dawn picked at the leftovers she and Emily had left earlier that evening.

"Did I just totally cock-block you?" Dawn said, though her tone was far from apologetic, Paige could practically hear the smirk in the other girls voice. She was enjoying this. "You have a bedroom Paige. I do not appreciate you having sex on my couch."

"We weren't having sex!" Paige exclaimed, her voice hushed. "We just got a little carried away that's all."

"Whatever," Dawn smirked. "Go on, take it to the bedroom. I'll put on some loud music. It'll be like old times. Except, you'll be the one getting…"

"Dawn! I…shut up, okay?" Paige said, dropping her gaze to the floor. "I want to take things slow."

"So you guys are actually dating now?" Dawn said incredulously.

"Yeah, I guess we are," Paige smiled, Dawn still looking at her sceptically. "I really like her Dawn, I don't want to screw it up by moving to fast…I want this to be more than just…sex."

"Aww, how sweet," Dawn teased.

"Dawn, shut up," Paige said, getting annoyed with her roommates behaviour.

"I'm sorry P. It's refreshing seeing you all enamoured like this! I'm happy for you," Dawn smiled, her face softening.

"You're the one that told me to stop flitting from girl to girl and find someone I'd like to settle down with. I think Emily could be that girl. So will you just..."

"Paige? I should really get going," Paige turned to see Emily standing in the doorway, silently praying that Emily hadn't heard anything she and Dawn had talked about. She was certain the last thing Emily wanted or needed right now was to hear Paige talking about 'settling down'. Paige gave Dawn a curt look, following Emily towards the front door.

There was a distance between them now, barely noticeable but there all the same. The moment had well and truly passed. Paige sighed, smiling at Emily apologetically. "I'm sorry. Dawn…"

"Has terrible timing," Emily smiled softly, leaning forward to peck Paige's cheek. "Maybe next time we'll have no interruptions." Emily smirked suggestively, Paige's jaw hanging open as she watched the girl walking away.

* * *

By the time Friday arrived Emily was no closer to making a decision about Ellie's proposition. She had spent the entire week trying to weigh up her options; when it came to job opportunities she wasn't exactly spoilt for choice right now. She couldn't complain about it; she had landed herself in this situation when she'd decided to defer her place at Penn. Ellie had called her, inviting her to dinner that night with her and her Father. She needed a solid decision by the time she went to meet them. Spencer had weighed in, reminding Emily of the practices reputation and the benefits working there could offer, and Hanna had went in the opposite direction; suggesting it was simply a ploy by Ellie to 'get back into her pants' as she'd put it. Emily had spent most of her week with Paige; making a habit to meet Paige after her shift at the café. She was falling for Paige, and fast, a smile tugging onto her face as she fiddled with the sleeves of the oversized sweatshirt she'd stolen from Paige earlier in the week.

"Why are you wearing Paige's sweater?" Spencer asked from her left. Emily turned to find her friend studying her. After her shower that afternoon she had pulled on the sweater without giving it a second thought; there was no reason for Spencer to assume it belonged to anyone else.

"How do you know…"

"That's the same sweatshirt you were wearing that morning when you couldn't remember if the two of you had…fornicated. Seattle Seahawks," Spencer clarified, motioning to the motif on the front of the sweater. Emily sighed, as if Spencer remembered that. But then again it _was _Spencer; of course she remembered that.

"I must have kept it. I keep meaning to give her it back," she answered with a shrug, frowning slightly when Spencer accepted her lie so easily. This had been the perfect opportunity to just tell Spencer about her relationship with Paige, but now the moment had passed.

"Have you managed to think of anything we can do for Hanna's birthday yet?" Spencer asked, Emily groaning. Hanna's birthday was in a week_. _With all the excitement of things taking off with Paige, she'd almost forgotten. It was the first one they would be spending together for about two years; Hanna had never been overly keen on celebrating in Rosewood since her Mom had went to prison and Caleb had left, but she was here now, and the girls wanted to make sure her birthday was one to remember.

"I was thinking we could have a party? She'll be heading back to New York the week after; it could be like a happy birthday slash we'll miss you thing?" Emily shrugged; she hadn't given it acres of thought.

"We can work with that," Spencer nodded in agreement. "I'll call Aria later, maybe we could…"

"No parties," Hanna groaned as she stumbled to the couch, plonking herself down. The sleep was evident in her voice. "I want to go out and get absolutely shit-faced, with you guys and Aria. Feel free to shower me with gifts though. The more the better. And cake…I'd like a cake. Maybe several small cakes. I'll get back to you on that."

"If that's all you want…"

"It is," Hanna groaned again, cutting Emily off. "I might invite Paige, if you guys don't mind."

"Oh I don't mind, it's your birthday," Spencer said, before turning to Emily with a sly smirk on her face. "I'm sure you definitely don't, do you Em?"

"Not at all," Emily answered honestly, but something about the look on Spencer's lips left her feeling confused and unsettled.

* * *

"Paige! Your girlfriend is here!" Dawns voice bellowed throughout the apartment, Paige shooting up on the couch. _Her what? _She glanced at her watch; it was barely 9, she must have fallen asleep watching whatever car-crash reality TV show Dawn had settled on earlier. She was supposed to meet Caleb half an hour ago. _Shit._ Dawn walked back into the room, followed by Emily, and Paige quickly jumped to her feet. Dawn sat back down on her chair, shooting Paige a glare that let her know the couch was off-limits tonight. Paige offered out her hand and Emily took it with a smile, allowing Paige to lead her down the hallway and into her bedroom. Once inside Emily instantly took a seat on Paige's bed, reaching down to slip off her heels with a satisfied sigh.

"Everything okay?" Paige asked. She'd been worrying all night about Emily's dinner. _Emily's dinner with her ex. _For all it was wonderful that Emily was here, she couldn't help but be filled with dread that Emily was here to tell her that she was taking Ellie back and that they were over now.

"Dinner was awful," Emily sighed, and Paige couldn't seem to help the small smile that tugged onto her lips. Emily noticed, quirking her eyebrow in amusement. "Sorry for turning up like this, unannounced. Again."

"Don't be," Paige smirked, closing her door quietly and making her way over to Emily's side. "Past experience suggests that it could end pretty well for me."

"Is that so?" Emily smirked, reaching forward to take Paige's hand in her own. Paige's eyes fixed on Emily's face, trying her best to read the emotion there; Emily's eyes were fixed on their entwined hands, and for all she was smiling there was also a slight sadness lingering beneath the surface.

"Dinner went badly huh?" Paige asked, Emily's eyes flitting up to meet her own.

"Yeah, I hated it." Emily said sadly. Once she'd arrived at the restaurant, Emily knew instantly she didn't want to be there. She regretted it the second she'd walked through the door. She'd had a glass of wine to settle her unease. It had soon turned into another, and she didn't know why she had felt so nervous about it. She and Ellie were together for four years, she knew she shouldn't need to drink to feel comfortable over dinner with her. But it had been as if she was seeing Ellie for the first time. Noticing all the little things she'd been able to ignore while they were together but now they were apart simply drove her insane. And it was sad, _so_ sad that after so much time and effort on both their parts, that they could barely hold a conversation now. "Ellie…" Emily paused, looking over to Paige who was listening intently, patiently, her eyes focused on Emily with so much care and concern Emily felt like she was about to burst. She was sick of this. Sick of showing up here unannounced to complain about her problems. Because here, right in front of her, was the one thing in her life right now that was uncomplicated, and in her opinion, wonderful.

"What about Ellie?" Paige asked as Emily paused, looking at her intently.

"I'm sick of talking about Ellie," Emily exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "I'm sick of coming here and dumping everything on you."

"I don't mind it…"

"I do," Emily said softly. She reached out to cup Paige's cheek, smoothing over the soft skin their with her thumb. "It's such a waste of time. _Our time_. I don't want to talk about Ellie, or her Dad or that stupid job offer…"

"Did you take it?" Paige asked.

"I…took it," Emily said, casting her gaze to the floor. "Her Dad is a good man, and it's a great opportunity…I'd be stupid not to."

"Congratulations," Paige smiled, the smile fading when she noticed the frown that tugged onto Emily's lips. "Hey…whats wrong?"

"Do you think It's a good idea?" Emily asked, her voice wavering and alerting Paige to the worry beneath the surface.

"I think it's worth trying," Paige smiled, reaching up to softly brush Emily's hair from her face. "If you go, and you hate it, then there's nothing stopping you from quitting."

"You're right," Emily smiled, though the smile didn't quite reach her ears. "Paige, I'm really glad I have you."

"I'm really glad I have you," Paige smiled, satisfied to see Emily's smile grow a little wider as she spoke. "You look very beautiful tonight by the way," she remarked, lightly playing with the hem of Emily's dress. It was the same one she'd wore the week before when Emily and Hanna had visited Paige in the café. Paige decided that it looked even better tonight. Emily smiled, but Paige was unable to read the emotion in her eyes; all she was aware of was that Emily was edging closer, that her heart was starting to beat faster, and that she could feel Emily's breath on her lips. And then Emily was kissing her, so slowly yet so passionately that she was starting to feel light-headed. Emily's hands came up to tangle in her hair, Paige bracing herself on one arm as the kiss intensified. The angle they were at was awkward, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away. Her fingertips stopped their idle fiddling with the hem of Emily's dress as she felt Emily bite down on her lip softly. Instead she placed her palm flat on the skin of the other girls thigh, just beneath the hem she had played with seconds earlier. Paige felt Emily shudder at the contact, and emboldened, moved her hand under a little further, her fingertips grazing the soft skin of Emily's inner thigh. Emily stilled, her lips stopping their movement against Paige's before pulling back and breathing heavily. Paige began to retract her hand, thinking perhaps she had pushed a little too far, only to feel Emily's hand moving to cover it; their eyes fixing on each others as she slowly began guiding Paige's hand beneath the hem of her dress. Paige was sure her heart stopped dead as she watched it disappear beneath the fabric.

She inhaled sharply; this was it. Finally. No interruptions. She closed her eyes as she saw Emily leaning in once again, waiting patiently for their lips to reconnect.

The kiss never came; instead she felt Emily pulling away and heard her phone blaring in her pocket. Paige felt as if she could practically combust with frustration. "For the love of…urgh," Paige groaned, taking her phone out of her pocket and offering Emily an apologetic smile. Her face softened when she saw Caleb's number on flashing up on the screen. She was late to meet him after all, and she had promised to help him so she knew she shouldn't be mad at the interruption. Somehow the knowledge wasn't taking away her disappointment at having to stop where things were going with Emily moments earlier. "I'm sorry Em…I'll um, drive you home."

"Can't I stay here tonight?" Emily asked, leaning in to nip at the skin on Paige's neck before smoothing over the small bite with her tongue.

"You have no idea how good that sounds," Paige groaned, standing up and offering Emily her hand. "But I was supposed to meet my friend for catch-up like half an hour ago. They're only in town for a night, so I really need to get going."

"Oh," Emily frowned, reaching down to put her heels back on. "You should just go, I can get a cab home. I don't want to make you any later than you already are."

"I insist on driving you," Paige said, lacing her fingers together with Emily's. "If it means I get to spend a little extra time with you, then they can wait a little longer."

* * *

Paige bounced from foot to foot anxiously at Emily's door. An idea had come to her that morning; she had promised to make up for their missed morning together earlier in the week, and she had thought of the perfect idea, along with a solution to the near-constant interruptions she and Emily always seemed to fall victim to as of late. Or at least it seemed that way as she'd planned it throughout the day. Her confidence was wavering now that she was standing in Emily's apartment complex. She'd sent Emily a couple of message's earlier, asking her to be the one to answer the door, but she'd received no reply. Now that she'd rapped on Emily's front door she worried that she was going to come face to face with Spencer Hastings with no actual excuse for why she was here. She let out a relieved sigh when it was Emily who answered.

"Paige? Hey," Emily beamed as she saw Paige standing in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

"Can you sneak out?" Paige grinned, Emily's eyebrow raising and a smirk tugging onto her lips in response. "I have a surprise…"

"Paige!" Hanna exclaimed giddily, coming in to view behind Emily. Paige frowned, just about ready to kill the next person that interrupted her when she was trying to talk to Emily, quickly forcing a grin onto her face as Hanna came to stand beside Emily in the doorway. "This is a nice surprise! Why are you here?"

"I uh…" Paige stammered, looking from Emily to Hanna and back again. Emily was staring at her like she had a hole in her head, whilst Hanna continued to simply smile. "I was driving home and uh…I drove past and um…well I wanted to check in! I haven't seen you since last week and you were sad then so…uh, yeah. Surprise."

"That's so sweet!" Hanna grinned, grabbing Paige's arm and yanking her forcibly into the apartment. "Paige is so sweet isn't she Emily?" Hanna smirked at her friend; the suggestive tone to her voice not lost on either girl. Emily shot Paige an amused smile, nodding her head in agreement.

"We're having a girls night in, you should join us!" Hanna said, Paige trying to stammer out an excuse, any excuse, but it didn't come quick enough. Soon enough she was being pushed down into an armchair, Hanna squeezing in beside her and ordering Spencer to pour Paige a glass of wine.

"Oh really I have my car…" Paige began to protest, only to be cut off.

"No worries," Spencer smiled at her, surprising Paige slightly; Paige was sure she'd intended the smile to be friendly but something about it made it slightly unnerving, as if Spencer was plotting something. "We can make you up a bed on the couch if you like?"

"I really shouldn't stay…"

"Sleepover!" Hanna exclaimed, clapping her hands together to emphasise her glee. Paige smiled uncomfortably, glancing over to Emily who flashed her an apologetic smile. Paige sighed; her plan would have to wait. It looked like she was staying the night.

* * *

Paige was nervous, Emily could tell. She had been since the second she'd entered the apartment. Paige was sitting on the chair nearest the door, as far away from Emily as possible it seemed, much to Emily's annoyance, though she knew it was probably easier that way. If Paige was next to her she wasn't sure she would be able to stop herself crawling all over her. The way Paige had touched her before they were interrupted on Friday night had left her desperately craving more. She sighed, knowing she'd have to wait a little longer. Instead she had to settle for sitting next to Spencer while Hanna was practically sitting in Paige's lap; Emily had to roll her eyes when she realised she was actually jealous of that. She felt like standing up and announcing that she and Paige were involved or whatever it was they were, just so she could trade places with the blonde. Paige wasn't making it easy. She was wearing the same black jeans she would often wear, Emily remembering them fondly. Paige looked far too good in them and she was sure she had been blatantly ogling the girl ever since she'd arrived.

Emily was desperate to know why Paige had really showed up tonight; she'd mentioned a surprise before Hanna had interrupted them. Throughout the night she'd attempted on several occasions to get Paige alone, but Hanna was bulldozing over all of her solutions. She offered to give Paige a tour of the apartment; Hanna simply reminded her Paige had been there before. She offered to take Paige into the kitchen so she could choose her own drink, only for Paige to miss the hint and state that she was happy enough with the wine Spencer had given her. She'd even tried to get Paige into her bedroom, asking her if she was any good with DIY as her dresser needed fixing; but Hanna reminded her they fixed it last week. She loved Hanna, she really did, but right now she was cursing the other girl beneath her breath. Emily studied Paige at every opportunity. She was sitting silently, twirling a strand of her hair between her fingers and tapping her knee; Emily taking it as a dead giveaway that the other girl was nervous. She understood why, in a way, but then on the other hand, she didn't think Paige needed to be. She knew Hanna well, she knew Emily well, and Spencer, quite surprisingly, was doing her best to be as welcoming as possible. Spencer was shooting Emily the odd look every now and then; smirking at her when Emily would gush at something Paige said, or when she caught them exchanging a meaningful look. Hanna was shooting Emily similar smirks, but for a completely different reason. In Hanna's mind she was probably treating Paige's arrival here as some kind of set up, and with the way Emily was looking at Paige, she obviously thought it was working. _If only she knew._ Emily made a mental note to let her friends know that there was something going on between them when Paige left.

"Hanna," Spencer said, the look she shot Emily letting her know that she was up to something. "Come with me to the store? We're running low," she lifted the near empty bottle in front of her for emphasis.

"Can't you take Emily with you?" Hanna whined. Spencer gave her a pointed look, motioning not so subtly between Paige and Emily. Emily couldn't help but roll her eyes. They really were trying hard.

"I can go if you like," Paige offered politely, completely oblivious to Spencer's scheming; causing Emily to frown, Spencer to protest and Hanna to finally catch on.

"No!" She exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "You stay right there…Emily can keep you company," Hanna smirked, throwing a not so subtle wink in Emily's direction before tugging her jacket on and practically dragging Spencer out of the door, much to Emily's amusement.

"I'm so sorry," Emily said with an apologetic smile, Paige snapping out of her thoughts.

"It's okay, really…I should've planned this out a little better," Paige smiled stiffly, Emily frowning at the other girl.

"Why are you so nervous?" she asked.

"I'm not nervous," Paige said, doing he best to sound aloof. "I'm just…nervous," she sighed. Emily stood, making her way over to Paige and settling beside her on the chair, almost sighing in relief when their fingers laced together, savouring the contact.

"Why?" Emily asked, softly brushing her thumb over Paige's palm and trying her damnedest to listen and not climb all over the girl like she wanted to.

"No reason," Paige said defensively, her shoulders slumping when Emily simply looked at her disbelievingly. "I just want Spencer to like me, that's all."

"Spencer?" Emily asked, eyebrow raised questioningly. "Why?"

"She's your best friend, and your roommate…I just want to make a good impression. I want your friends to like me. Hanna loves me 'cos she's Hanna but Spencer…for all I know Spencer thinks I'm the reason you and Ellie broke up. She keeps looking at me funny." Paige rambled. "You girls live and die by each other…"

"What?" Emily asked in amusement; unable to resist leaning forward to kiss away the small pout that had formed on Paige's lips.

"Never mind," Paige said sheepishly. Now that she was here she figured she could make the most of the situation and try to get Spencer on her good side; Caleb's words fresh in her mind, but Hanna had done most of the talking and Spencer had been looking at her funny all night and it was all just making her feel more and more uncomfortable. "I really like you. And I really want this to work. That's why I need Spencer to like me."

"She knows that Ellie and I ended because I didn't love her anymore. And sure, maybe I had feelings for you while I was with her, but if you remember, you were the one that made sure nothing happened until we were over. And I don't know if you noticed, but she just made Hanna leave so we could be _alone."_

"Oh," Paige said, finally realising why Hanna and Spencer had left so abruptly; the strange looks made a hell of a lot more sense now. "This is a set up?"

"If only they knew," Emily chuckled, giving Paige's hand a quick squeeze. She would sit them down tomorrow and tell them they didn't have to try so hard to fix up Paige and herself; that they'd already managed to do that themselves. "Are you sure that's the only reason you're so…fidgety?"

"You keep looking at me like…like you're about to pounce on me," Paige rubbed the back of her neck nervously with a small laugh, thankful that Emily was also blushing at her words. "It's killing me being so close to you and not being able to…"

"To what?" Emily asked raising an eyebrow, watching as Paige's gaze dropped to the floor. She inched closer, smirking slightly at the way Paige's breath hitched, deciding that it was fun teasing her. She loved the way Paige's body was reacting to their proximity. "Not being able to what?"

Paige didn't bother answering, closing the distance between them and kissing Emily, hard. Since she arrived earlier she wanted, practically needed to feel Emily's lips on hers once again, revelling in the way Emily's arms came to wrap around her neck as she deepened the kiss. The angle was awkward however, Emily pulling away when her neck began to ache. "Not being able to do that," Paige said with a small laugh, resting her forehead against Emily's.

"I've wanted to do that all night," Emily smiled, leaning forward to peck Paige's lips lightly.

"Me too," Paige smiled, playing absent-mindedly with a strand of Emily's hair. "Hanna seems to be a lot happier this week."

"Mmhmm," Emily mumbled; for all she was happy Hanna was happier, she didn't want to waste the time they had alone talking about the blonde, connecting her lips to Paige's once again. She sighed into the kiss, slightly taken aback by how much she had craved this, craved them, in the space of a few days. "Paige, why did you really come here?"

"I have a surprise for you," Paige smiled, nipping at Emily's jaw.

"What is it?" Emily asked, trying to hold back the smile that tugged onto her lips.

"You know how surprises work right?" Paige grinned, leaning forward to kiss Emily's cheek. "Is Hanna a deep sleeper?"

"Yeah," Emily nodded in confusion. "Why?"

"It's a sleepover remember?" Paige said, raising her eyebrow suggestively. "Sneak out once she's out for the count and I'll show you."


	9. Chapter 9

_Sorry for the long delay. I kind of lost steam a little with this story, and this update is shorter that usual, and fluffy, but I just wanted to get back into the swing of things. FYI they play I Never at the start of this chapter, so if you don't know the rules basically you say "I never…" whatever and if someone else has done it they have to take a shot, each time you take a shot you put down a finger, last person to put all 5 fingers down wins. At least that's how we play. Sidebar: This gets a little smutty. Which I haven't actually written properly before, so if I can ask if you're someone who reviews please let me know whether it actually works or whether I should quit it. Anyway, I'll try to get back to regular updates asap. Thanks for the feedback as always :) _

* * *

**_Chapter Nine: Be_**

"Never have I ever…gotten a parking ticket," Emily shrugged, watching Hanna's nose crinkle in disgust.

"_Lame _Em," Hanna sighed, though she did take a shot and put down a finger, as did Paige.

"It made you drink didn't it?" Emily smiled triumphantly.

"That is the whole point," Spencer nodded in agreement, Hanna simply waving them off and slapping Paige on the thigh, signalling for her to top up their glasses.

"Never have I ever watched lesbian porn," Hanna smirked cockily, the smirk fading when Emily didn't take a shot. She'd already played the _'never have I ever slept with a girl' _card to trip Emily up, and had been certain this would be another success. She looked to Paige to see her taking her shot with a blush, her eyes quickly flitting to Spencer after hearing Emily squeak in surprise.

"Are you kidding me? You've never but you have?" Hanna exclaimed, pointing from Emily to Spencer, both girls shrugging in response.

"I got curious," Spencer giggled, the effects of the alcohol clearly starting to take effect. Paige stood to top up their glasses before taking her seat once again, Hanna looking at her expectantly.

"Uhm," Paige began, trying her best to think of something. Thankfully she wasn't nervous anymore. Her talk with Emily, or maybe more correctly the distraction of kissing Emily had taken away the majority of her unease by the time Spencer and Hanna returned from the store. "Never have I ever slept with a guy." She smiled triumphantly, watching as both Hanna and Spencer put down a finger and took a shot. She was definitely winning.

Paige could feel a slight buzz from the wine she'd consumed, though she was being careful to keep her drinking to a minimum; she did still have plans for tonight. She hadn't failed to notice that Emily was being similarly calculated with her own drinking, though Hanna's insistence they play drinking games was seriously denting their efforts. For all her night hadn't gone to plan she was glad to have spent time with Emily and her friends; once she had managed to get out of her head the conversation had flowed nicely, Paige regaining some of her confidence and allowing herself to enjoy the company of the three girls. Before she'd reconnected with Hanna her socialization had been limited to Dawn and her circle of friends; the people she had left behind when she left Philadelphia after High School had moved on long before her return. It had been a long time since she'd felt so comfortable in a group.

"Never have I ever thought that Europe was a country," Spencer said, glaring pointedly at Hanna.

"I _never _said I thought it was a country! You mislead me…" Hanna huffed, before sighing and knocking back another shot. "You guys are ganging up on me."

"You're losing, I'm winning." Spencer shrugged with a celebratory grin. "Em you're up."

"Earth to Emily," Emily heard Hanna saying, realising she'd drifted off into thought. Paige had spilled part of her last shot and was now in the process of wiping down her t-shirt, the action, possibly due to the alcohol or just how good Paige seemed to look tonight she wasn't sure, had Emily transfixed; her eyes glued to the movement of Paige's fingers. She flushed, realising she'd been caught staring for the god knows what time tonight, and looked at Hanna questioningly. "It's your turn. And don't cop-out and say something sissy. The whole point of the game is to dish the dirt."

"Never have I ever…" Emily paused, glancing around to see who was winning and who was losing. She wanted this game over quickly; the faster it ended, the faster she got Paige alone. "Had sex in a tent."

"See! You're both ganging up on me!" Hanna exclaimed, putting down another finger and taking her shot. Hanna set her glass down, a devious smirk tugging onto her lips as she glanced between Emily and Paige. "Never have I ever thought about having sex with somebody in this room."

Paige looked to Emily instantaneously, her eyes widening slightly as their eyes locked. She waited, wanting to follow Emily's lead. They had almost went there, multiple times now, and she'd certainly thought about it, even before they'd started fooling around; whether she wanted to admit that to Emily and her friends, she wasn't certain. Emily was watching her just as intently, before simply shrugging and throwing back her shot. Paige followed suit with a small smirk, the way Emily looked at her making her flush all over.

_"Obviously," _Hanna giggled, watching Emily blush slightly at her words, her eyebrow raising in curiosity as she watched Spencer knocking back a shot of her own and placing down her last finger.

"Who?" Hanna asked in curiosity, Emily relaxing when she realised the question was aimed at Spencer.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Spencer smirked. "And I call bullshit Han, there is no way you've never. Take a shot."

"But if I do I'll lose," Hanna groaned.

"Take a shot! I have heard you say in this very room that if you swung that way you'd definitely sleep with Paige," Hanna's mouth gaped open, taking the pillow from behind her a tossing it at Spencer in annoyance.

"Is that so?" Paige said teasingly, bringing her arm to rest on the back of the chair behind Hanna and giving her a playful wink.

"You're such a dork," Hanna giggled, slapping Paige's arm playfully. "And no fair Spencer, you only want me to take a shot because you've lost as well…"

The two began bickering but Paige could barely hear it. She looked over to find Emily staring at her once again, much like she had been for the majority of the night. Like she was about to pounce on her. She swallowed and glanced at the clock, hoping that these games would be over soon.

* * *

Spencer yawned, causing Paige to yawn, which it turn made Emily yawn. She looked over to Hanna to find that she was already fast asleep. Hanna had insisted on watching a movie once the game had finished, though they had only managed to make it through the first five minutes before tiredness set in.

"I'll go get you some blankets," Spencer said to Paige as she stood, stopping in front of Emily. "Come with? You can find Paige something to sleep in."

Paige offered her thanks before going about the task of waking a dead to the world Hanna as the two made their way down the hallway. Emily walked into her room and making her way to her dresser, only to be confused when Spencer followed her inside and shut the door behind her.

"So…" Spencer said, flopping down onto Emily's bed. " Tell me about _Paige." _

"What about Paige?" Emily asked as she rifled around her dresser, trying to decide what to offer Paige, pulling out Paige's sweatshirt as a possibility.

"How long have you been seeing each other?" Spencer asked bluntly, Emily's eyes widening as her friend spoke.

"How do you…"

"Where do I start? That sweatshirt, which I know for a fact you gave back to her the day after you met, only to now suddenly possess again. You've had 'dinner' with your Mom at least 4 times in the past two weeks, but you always eat before you leave and get home in the early hours of the morning. There's a hickey just below your shirt collar. And when Hanna and I went to get more wine your shirt was tucked in," Spencer continued, Emily looking down to find Spencer was right. Damn Spencer and her damn intuitiveness. "Not to mention the serious eye-fucking the two of you have been doing for the past two hours. Shall I go on?"

"A few weeks," Emily admitted, happy at least that she could finally talk to someone about her relationship with Paige. "The day I left Rosewood High. That's the first time we kissed. And I guess…we haven't really been able to stop since."

"Wow," Spencer said, smirking slightly at Emily's confession, before her brow furrowed once again as another thought came to mind. "Is that why you broke up with Ellie? For Paige?" Spencer asked, now looking at Emily quizzically. "At Aria's party…did something actually happen before I walked in on you?"

"No. Ellie and I were over long before anything happened with Paige, and that Friday was the first time we kissed." Emily answered with certainty, before dropping her gaze to the floor. "I'd be lying if I said meeting Paige didn't play a part in helping me realise that we were over though. That I wanted…that I wanted more."

"So when you didn't come home that night…_oh,_" Spencer smirked, looking over to Emily with a suggestive look in her eyes.

"Nothing happened," Emily said as she rolled her eyes. "We haven't gotten to that."

"But you want to get to that?" Spencer teased, enjoying watching Emily blush.

"I really like her," Emily said, deciding that was a good enough answer for now. "I'm sorry for not telling you…it just kind of happened, and it's so soon after Ellie; I didn't want to say anything, especially to Hanna, she's really fond of Paige and we don't really know what this is yet, I just wanted to be sure of what I wanted before..."

"I understand," Spencer said, giving Emily an understanding smile. "So, are you any more sure now? You've basically been gawking at her all night."

"I think so," Emily said with a soft smile. She'd worried time and time again that she was moving too fast, that it was too soon after Ellie but being around Paige, being _with _Paige was making her realise that it didn't matter. "It's early days and I don't want to rush into anything but…I couldn't keep denying that there was something between us. Plus, she's so easy to be around. And sweet, and funny and…"

"…pretty hot," Spencer added, causing Emily to laugh lightly at the serious expression on Spencer's face. "I'm glad you're happy."

"You don't think it's too soon?"

"I think you should be careful. If you're not sure about getting too serious so soon after Ellie, make sure Paige knows that so she doesn't get hurt," Spencer said contemplatively. "That said, who's to say what's too soon? If you're happy then don't worry about what other people might think. If it feel's right to you, that's all that matters."

"Thanks Spence." _Don't worry about what other people may think. _Emily flashed her friend and genuine smile, thankful that Spencer had been able to point out where her main concern was coming from.

"I'll let you tell Hanna," Spencer smirked. "Be warned, on the way to the store she plotted out this whole five step plan to get the two of you together. It's…elaborate and _horrendous_. Tell her soon before she tries to set it in motion."

"I'll tell her in the morning."

* * *

Emily lay as still as possible, listening intently to Hanna's breathing. Thankfully Hanna was a snorer, so she knew it would be easy to tell once she started to drift off. Hanna had also had the most top-ups tonight, along with losing every drinking game they attempted, so it was safe to assume she'd be dead to the world once she'd drifted off. It didn't take long before Emily could hear the faint snores coming from behind her. She turned to double-check Hanna was indeed fast asleep before slipping out of the bed and creeping down the hallway; brimming with excitement now she could finally find out what Paige had originally planned for them that evening.

Her brow furrowed when the living room was empty. She had just walked past the bathroom, and the light had definitely been off. She walked over to the kitchen, only to frown when she found that was empty as well. She walked to her front door when she saw it was ajar, peering out into the hallway; but there was still no sign of Paige. She sighed, _where the hell was she?_ She took a seat on the couch, deciding that Paige would resurface eventually; she definitely wasn't the kind of person who would leave without mentioning anything, and it wasn't like there was anywhere she could go this late in Emily's neighbourhood. Paige's clothes were still neatly folded at the foot of the couch; she had changed into a pair of Emily's old pyjamas before everyone made their way to bed, so she couldn't have went far.

"Ready?" Emily startled slightly at the sound of Paige's voice, looking towards the front door to see Paige's head popping inside.

"Where are we going?" Emily whispered as she stood, grabbing her keys and going for her phone, only to be stopped by Paige lacing their fingers together.

"No interruptions," Paige smirked, motioning to the phone. Emily set it back down on the table, slipping on her shoes and letting Paige lead her out into the hallway.

"Won't you be cold going out like that?" Emily asked, giving Paige a quick once over. It wasn't intentional, but the pyjamas she'd given Paige were borderline skimpy. She appreciated the decision now she saw Paige; she'd given Paige her own sweater back to wear for the night, coupled with a pair of shorts that were now barely visible beneath the oversized shirt. She'd thought Paige looked hot in her jeans, but now with her legs in full view…she'd never noticed how great they were before. Maybe it had been a subconscious decision to give Paige the shorts after all.

"I've prepared for all weathers," Paige said cryptically with a grin. _That damn grin._

"Where did you go just then?" Emily asked, closing her front door quietly behind her.

"I had to…change a few things," Paige said cryptically once again, tugging Emily along the corridor and into the elevators. "This was kind of meant to happen before sundown."

"We're going up?" Emily asked in surprise as Paige pressed the button for the tenth floor, Paige simply smiling in response and shifting closer to wrap her arm around Emily's waist. The distance between them in Emily's apartment had bothered her to no end, her hands practically trembling with anticipation now she could actually touch Emily when she wanted to.

"Patience," she murmured into Emily's ear, Emily shivering as she felt Paige's lips graze her earlobe softly. The elevator doors opened, Paige tugging her out and down the corridor until the reached the roof access.

"The roof?" Emily asked, watching as Paige made quick work of the locked door.

"Yes, the roof, stop asking so many questions," Paige chuckled, pulling the door open and motioning for Emily to make her way up the stairs. Paige wedged the door shut; she wanted no interruptions but she also didn't want them to get trapped up there. It took longer than she thought to secure; she heard a small gasp from the top of the stairs and realised that Emily was already outside. She ran up, stumbling slightly in her haste before she could reach the top, propping the exterior door open before quickly making her way over to Emily's side.

"How did you do all this?" Emily asked with a soft smile, taking Paige's hand and squeezing it gently. For all it was perfectly simple, the rooftop also looked perfectly beautiful. Paige had made a canopy-like tent, the inside filled with cushions and the outside carefully surrounded by little tea lights, the flickers of light casting large shadows across the rooftop.

"I may have had to make a few trips up and down," Paige shrugged, motioning for Emily to climb inside. Emily took her seat, waiting patiently as Paige wandered out of sight before returning, sitting down cross-legged beside Emily and handing her a small brown box, a goofy grin plastered on her face.

Emily opened it hastily, chuckling lightly when she saw what was inside.

"Carrot cake?" Emily smiled, watching in amusement as Paige pulled out two forks. "Homemade?"

"Of course," Paige grinned, both girls tucking in to their respective desserts. Emily was thankful for the food, hoping it would take the edge off the alcohol that was swarming around in her system. _Damn Hanna. _

"Speaking of cake, I was wondering if you could help me actually," Emily began as she finished a bite. "It's Hanna's birthday next Thursday, I thought maybe we could get together and you could help me bake her a cake?"

"Together?" Paige smirked, watching as Emily nodded with a small grin. "Of course."

"Great."

"You remember that I'm a messy cook right?" Paige grinned playfully. "You're not going to get mad at me when I've accidentally got flour in your hair or something?"

"I'll do my best. This is amazing," Emily nodded towards her own cake approvingly through a mouthful of food, glancing about the roof and sighing at how beautiful everything looked. "Thank you for doing all this for me."

"This wasn't exactly what I had planned, but with Hanna interrupting, and the drinking…well I had to improvise." Paige sighed. Emily looked up expectantly, signalling for Paige to continue. "Well…see that table over there?" She pointed, and sure enough the candlelight stretched just far enough for Emily to make out the faint outline of a table and chairs. "Well, we were going to eat this over there, with champagne, but…well I don't know about you but I don't think I can stomach another drink. And then we were going to move over here and get a little more comfortable, to just…cuddle up and watch the sunset together. But we kind of missed that, and then it was so dark up here so I had to um…well I kind of stole these candles from your apartment, I'll get you some mo…"

Emily cut Paige off, leaning forward and kissing her soundly to silence her. "This is perfect Paige."

"I just…we've never really had like a proper sit down date you know?" Paige began, setting her plate off to the side. "I know we've had dinner at my place and stuff but…I feel like we're always getting interrupted. I wanted you to myself for a while. I figured we could make this little canopy like…our own little world for the night, where we can just y'know…be." Paige shifted, moving to sit beside Emily, her back resting against the pillows behind her as her hand moved to rub soft circles on the small of Emily's back. "Besides, this place has a really great view."

"It's so pretty up here at night," Emily agreed, setting her own cake aside and shifting closer to Paige, smiling as she felt Paige's arm shifting to wrap around her waist. She'd never been up to the roof since they'd moved in, and it did have a great view of the neighbourhood and beyond.

"The sunset would have been nice though," Paige sighed sadly.

"The stars are beautiful. And the candles…and the canopy…it's all very romantic Paige," Emily mused, a smile tugging onto her lips.

"That's what I was going for," Paige smirked, shifting slightly so she could cup Emily's face, softly trailing the pad of her thumb over Emily's jaw. "I really want to impress you."

"You're succeeding," Emily smiled, leaning up until their lips connected, her left hand coming up to tangle in Paige's hair, pulling her closer. She could feel Paige smiling into the kiss, Emily pressing their lips together chastely one last time before snuggling back into Paige's side, her hand coming to rest on the flat of the other girls stomach. They lay together in silence, the only sounds Emily could hear being the steady thrum of Paige's heartbeat from where her head lay on Paige's chest and the faint reminder of the traffic still whirling around in the distance.

She ran her hand over Paige's torso once, twice, smiling as she felt Paige tugging her closer, a soft kiss being placed just below her hairline. It was innocent enough, or at least Emily thought it was, until at some point the flat of her hand had begun smoothing across Paige's stomach, enjoying the feeling of Paige's abs beneath her palm. She blushed slightly as she realised that she'd basically began feeling Paige up. She was finding it increasingly hard to hold back around Paige; ever since they'd met she had known she'd been attracted to the other girl, and now effectively nothing was stopping them taking things further. For all the sweatshirt was functional, the nights were getting colder after all, it was hindering her progress; Emily wanted to feel more. She lifted her head, kissing Paige's neck softly before once again resting her head on Paige's chest, sliding her hand beneath the material of the sweater and smirking when she heard Paige's breath hitching. Paige remained steady, reacting only by slipping her hand onto the small of Emily's back beneath her t-shirt.

She started drawing little shapes on Paige's stomach with her fingertips, smiling as she felt Paige's muscles twitch whenever she passed over a sensitive spot; smirking at the slight jump she got in response when she'd find a particularly ticklish spot. Paige was clearly effected by the movements, lifting Emily's face until their lips met, both girls kissing each other eagerly. Emily shifted, resting on her side, her hand slipping from beneath Paige's shirt to smooth along her thigh, tugging her closer until they were facing.

"You're freezing," Emily murmured against Paige's lips, not wanting to stop the kiss but pulling back and running her hand gently over Paige's thigh in an attempt to warm it.

"Oh, um, there's a blanket behind you," Paige said, sitting up so Emily could move. She grabbed the blanket, shuffling until she was hovering over Paige. She pushed the other girl back slightly with a smirk as she threw the blanket over them before carefully settling down on top of Paige.

Paige was looking at her intently, slightly surprised by their newfound position, her hand coming up to cup Emily's cheek as their eyes locked, Paige slowly tugging her upwards until their lips met once again. The kiss was soft, and Emily could feel herself melting into it, though her attempts to deepen the kiss were to no avail. She worried for a moment that Paige hadn't wanted to resume the kissing, until she felt Paige smirking against her lips and pulling back, teasingly making sure there was enough distance between them so that Emily could only lean forward to ghost their lips together but not deepen the kiss like she so clearly wanted to.

Emily huffed, pulling back to find Paige smirking at her, clearly trying to hold back a laugh. Emily shook her head at the girl, propping herself up on one arm until she was hovering above Paige slightly. If Paige was going to tease, then so would she.

She bypassed Paige's lips as she leaned down, instead pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Paige's jaw, sweeping her hair to one side so she could begin peppering soft kisses down Paige's neck, memorizing each and every time she found a particularly sensitive spot. She slid her hand back beneath the hem of Paige's top, once again smoothing over the soft skin. She sucked down on Paige's pulse point, coupling the action with a gentle scrape of her nails across Paige's abdomen, smiling into Paige's neck at the way Paige's stomach dipped and the soft whimper that escaped the other girls lips. She pulled back, her hand still resting beneath Paige's shirt, giving Paige the same playful smirk she'd flashed Emily earlier.

Before Emily had the chance to utter some kind of clever comment, Paige was on top of her and pressing her down into the pillows as their lips met, the kiss this time round anything but slow. It appeared Paige was done with teasing. Emily felt Paige's hands slipping beneath her shirt, her breath catching as she felt the coldness of Paige's hands against the warmth of her skin. They trailed upwards, her thumbs ghosting over the underside of Emily's breasts, Paige's hands stilling as realised Emily wasn't wearing a bra underneath her sleep shirt. She kissed Emily slowly, languidly, her hands exploring the soft skin beneath her fingertips.

Maybe it was the slight buzz from the wine, or the atmosphere of their surroundings, or the way that Paige's hands were touching her; so teasingly, approaching the places where she needed them most only to stop short and pull back. Emily didn't know, and didn't much care; all she knew was that she needed Paige to touch her. That she'd craved it ever since Paige had showed up on her doorstep that evening. She waited until once again the edge of Paige's palm came to rest just below her chest, slipping a hand impatiently beneath her own shirt to cover Paige's hand in an attempt to move it upwards. "Paige…"

"Sorry," Emily's brow furrowed in confusion; a second ago they had been so close and now Paige was pulling away and apologising?

"For what?" Emily asked, noticing the slight fear in Paige's eyes.

"Getting carried away," Paige said. As she noticed the look on Emily's face she realised she'd panicked needlessly; her cheeks flushing in embarrassment before she managed to compose herself.

"I'm not complaining Paige," Emily said with certainty. She cupped Paige's cheek, lifting herself slightly until their lips met briefly, pulling back only slightly until Paige looked her in the eyes. "I want this."

"I want you, I really do." Paige said, her face becoming serious as she removed her hands from beneath Emily's top to rest on her thighs, Emily unable to hold back the small groan that spilled from her lips. Paige was developing a terrible habit of working her up with no release, and for all she didn't want to push, she also felt like she might combust if Paige didn't touch her soon. "I just don't want you to regret it if we…this is still so new."

Emily's face softened; she knew Paige was right. Paige's face told her everything she needed to know; that Paige wanted this just as much as Emily, but she didn't want to rush, or to push. Emily nodded; a barely there nod and she was sure Paige didn't notice it. Emily knew she should explain that she agreed, that there's no need to rush, that they should take things slow.

"Right now is all that matters," is what came out instead. It had been Paige's reasoning weeks earlier when Emily had worried that it was too soon for them to even kiss each other, that she'd somehow hurt Paige by moving on so fast. That maybe she would change her mind. But she hadn't changed it yet, and she wasn't going to. Perhaps it was crazy to feel so certain. Perhaps it was the buzz of the alcohol, or the atmosphere created by Paige's set up on the roof, or the way Paige was looking down at her with so much affection, but Emily had no doubts. "I could never regret it Paige. Not with you."

There was something about the way Emily was looking up at her; her gaze laced with so much certainty and so much desire that Paige felt like she'd been jolted awake. She knew it was perfectly acceptable for her to worry, but as her eyes met Emily's she felt like a fool for waiting. _Emily._ She'd wanted Emily for so long. Emily was beneath her, illuminated only by the flickering candlelight, and she had never looked more beautiful. She leant forward, cupping Emily's face in her hands as she pressed their lips together firmly, passionately. It took no time before her hands were slipping back beneath Emily's t-shirt once again and resuming their movements from earlier, this time only teasingly avoiding where Emily needed them most.

"Take my shirt off," Emily said breathlessly as things became heated once again, Paige's kisses coupled with the way Paige was touching her sending her head into a spin.

"Here?" Paige said, her hand slowly pushing the fabric of Emily's shirt up to expose her stomach, tracing small patterns on the skin there before dipping her head down and pressing a soft kiss just below Emily's belly button, Emily whimpering beneath her. "It's pretty cold out Em," Paige said, her playful tone returning, bringing her hands to rest teasingly at the top of Emily's ribs as she shifted upwards to nip Emily's pulse point softly.

"Paige," Emily whined, watching as Paige smirked down at her before nipping softly at her pulse point once again, causing Emily to shiver. "I don't care leave it on…" Emily trailed off, blushing at how suddenly desperate she'd become. One thing that surprised her about Paige was how profoundly the simple act of the other girl touching her would affect her; how easily it could have her unravelling so quickly. "I just want you to touch me."

Her words seemed to have given Paige the push she needed; Emily barely had time to think before their lips had reconnected and Paige was kissing her frantically. Her hands slipped beneath her shirt once again, but this time with purpose, moving slowly upwards until finally they cupped Emily's bare breasts; Emily arching into Paige's touch with a contented sigh. Paige's thumbs softly ran over Emily's nipples a few times, before pinching them between her fingers, eliciting a moan from the other girl.

Emily bit her own lip as the kiss broke apart, Paige's mouth moving slowly downwards, trailing wet kisses along her throat as her hands explored Emily's chest. Emily's own hands slid up the back of Paige's shirt, softly raking her nails over the skin of Paige's back, wanting to feel as much of the other girl as possible.

"Are you sure about this?" She heard Paige say into her ear, one of her hands trailing down and dipping into the waistband of Emily's pyjama pants slightly as she spoke. Emily simply nodded quickly, the mere suggestion of Paige's action sending jolts straight to her core, the throbbing between her thighs becoming uncomfortable. She was nervous; she'd only ever been with two people, and she didn't want to disappoint, but the way Paige kept looking at her set her mind at ease. She trusted Paige. Most importantly she wanted Paige, desperately.

"Wait," Emily said breathlessly as Paige slipped her hand lower, her own hand gripping Paige's wrist, Paige's eyes meeting hers with concern. "You want this too right?"

"More than anything." And with that Paige's hand was slipping beneath the waistband, her fingers brushing softly against the material of Emily's underwear before pressing firmly against her, Emily letting out a breathy moan.

"Paige," Emily murmured, Paige simply pressing down harder and sucking on Emily's lower lip. Emily felt her head begin to spin as Paige began rubbing her fingers slowly, teasingly. Emily moaned into Paige's mouth, her hand tangling into Paige's hair; her fingernails digging into Paige's back.

_"Paige," _she breathed out once again, breaking the kiss. Paige smirked down at her as she moved her hand upwards and slowly slipped her hand into Emily's underwear, resuming her movements; the sensation quadrupling in intensity now there was no longer any barrier in the way. Emily lifted her hips in an attempt to get Paige to increase her speed, scraping her nails across the skin of Paige's back once again.

"You feel amazing," Paige breathed out against her lips, laughing slightly at her own words. "Is this okay?"

"Don't stop," Emily gasped; the feeling of Paige finally touching her overwhelming. It took control of her mind, her hands, her body...everything. _"God, Paige,"_ Paige was smirking above her, leaning down to capture Emily's lips once again as her fingers slipped lower, teasing Emily's entrance. Emily's back arched as she felt Paige pushing inside of her, breaking away from the kiss with a gasp. Paige followed her lips, kissing her once again, her tongue pushing into Emily's mouth and it was all Emily could do to lay back and feel; to be taken. Everything was pure sensation at this point, Emily barely noticing Paige was attempting to tug her pants down; the confines of Emily's underwear constricting her movements. She managed to get them halfway down Emily's thighs before giving up and resuming her movements, slowly thrusting in and out of Emily and revelling in the way the girl was moving beneath her; along with the sounds that were hitting her ears. Emily reared up, kissing Paige hard before biting down on her bottom lip and pulling as she felt a particularly hard thrust sending shockwaves through her body.

Her fingers dug into the skin of Paige's shoulders, her hands roaming beneath Paige's shirt; nails raking over Paige's skin, her left hand smoothing over Paige's stomach. She could feel Paige pressing down against her thigh, the gentle rocking matching the rhythm of her fingers, and Emily was unable to stop herself moving her hand lower, both girls moaning against each others mouths as her fingers met Paige's wetness.

"Fuck Em," Paige moaned, her lips resting against Emily's as she adjusted to the new feeling. Emily did her best to match Paige's pace as her fingers found the other girls clit. Paige groaned, biting down on Emily's lip, the image of Emily slowly becoming more and more undone beneath her coupled with the feeling of Emily finally touching her almost too much for her to handle.

Eventually kissing became too challenging, instead Paige's head came to rest on Emily's shoulder as they moved together, completely lost in one another as they worked each other towards release. It was all over too quickly, Emily desperately trying to prolong the sensation as she felt her stomach tightening; Paige increasing her efforts, her thumb finding Emily's clit, making sure to hit the spot that had Emily keening in pleasure with each thrust. It wasn't long until Emily was arching beneath her, her hips losing their rhythm as she came hard. Paige rocked against Emily's hand, her movements becoming more and more urgent until Emily finally felt Paige tensing above her with a cry, before slumping down on top of Emily and placing a lazy kiss to her shoulder.

Paige shifted upwards, blushing slightly as their eyes met, pulling out of Emily and tugging her pants back up as Emily removed her own hand from Paige's shorts. Paige leant down to kiss her softly, settling back down beside Emily and throwing the discarded blanket back over them, reaching out and tugging Emily into her arms.

"You're amazing," Emily heard Paige whisper into her ear, a soft kiss placed to her temple as she yawned.

"I think you'll find that's you," Emily chuckled, her eyes closing as she snuggled closer into Paige's side.

"Sleep," Paige yawned once again, sensing Emily's exhaustion; Emily able to hear the tiredness in Paige's own voice as she shifted closer once again. Emily felt Paige pressing another kiss to her forehead, a hand smoothing soothingly over her back, the steady beating of Paige's heart in her ear. She closed her eyes once again, content in Paige's embrace. Emily smiled, enjoying the moment, the quiet, the bliss; she was thankful for Paige, for tonight, and for this place that Paige had created; a place where they could simply 'be'.

* * *

Emily woke with a jolt, suddenly feeling very cold. She turned around to find Paige sleeping softly beneath the blanket, realising she must have rolled over at some point during the night and slipped out from beneath the warmth the blanket and Paige offered her. The sky was no longer dark, the first hints of the sunrise surfacing on the horizon. She lifted the blanket, sliding back in and once again cuddling into Paige's side, feeling the other girl stirring beside her, Paige turning to wrap an arm around her waist.

"You feel cold," Paige murmured, Emily smiling slightly when she felt Paige tugging her closer, her hands running over Emily's arms trying to warm her up.

"You're a cover hog," Emily said playfully, wrapping her own arm around Paige's waist.

"We slept up here all night," Paige mumbled into Emily's hair, unable to resist the urge to place a soft kiss to wherever it was that her lips came to rest.

"We were up pretty late," Emily said, blushing at the memory of the night before. She hadn't expected _that _to happen last night, and so soon into their relationship. And fully clothed for that matter. She flushed once again as she realised there was still so much more to explore and discover. She was comforted by Spencer's words from the night before; it was only too soon if she thought it was. After last night she was certain it wasn't. She knew she wanted a next time; one where they didn't have to worry about keeping warm, where she could feel Paige, all of Paige; see Paige, have Paige's skin against her own. She felt Paige shifting, the arm wrapped around her attempting to pull Emily even closer.

"I can't believe we had sex on the roof," Paige chuckled, nuzzling her face into Emily's hair once again to hide her blush.

"It wasn't part of your surprise?" Emily asked with a smirk, feeling Paige shaking her head.

"Was it okay?" Paige asked, shifting down until she could look at Emily, the look in her eyes letting Emily know she wasn't talking about the act itself; Emily remembering how Paige had expressed concerns about her changing her mind or regretting it once morning came. Emily didn't answer, simply leaning forward and pressing their lips together firmly, trying to express everything she was feeling in the kiss, pouring every ounce of certainty she felt into it. "We should probably head back inside soon," Paige said, her voice raspy, the sleep still evident in her voice. "Spencer and Hanna will probably wonder where we've got to if they wake up early."

"Spencer knows about us," Emily said, turning slightly so she could look up at Paige. She hadn't managed to tell Paige about their conversation last night. "She figured it out on her own."

"Are you okay with that?" Paige asked, her hand softly stroking through Emily's hair.

"I am," Emily smiled. "They really like you. Hanna _and _Spencer," Emily added, remembering Paige's nervousness from early last night. "I really like you."

"Likewise. So, are you going to tell Hanna?" Paige asked. She was beginning to feel guilty that she was keeping so many things from the blonde; at least if she could be open about Emily it might ease some of the pressure she felt about withholding Caleb's whereabouts.

"Later today," Emily nodded, laying her head back on top of Paige's chest, the two settling once again into a comfortable silence.

"Em, can I ask you something?" Paige's voice broke the silence. Emily could hear the slight increase in Paige's heartbeat, wondering what Paige had to say that was making her slightly anxious.

"Of course," Emily nodded, tugging Paige that little bit closer, feeling Paige relax slightly at the action.

"This, us," Paige began, sighing as her words got caught in her throat. "It isn't…does it feel too…sudden to you?" Paige felt Emily stiffen slightly, and for a moment she panicked herself, realising how that might sound. "I mean…not like bad sudden, it's just…this feels so right to me, and its so soon and that's kind of…scary."

"Do you…are you having second thoughts?" Emily asked, the worry evident in her voice.

"Not at all," Paige said with confidence. "I just need to know that you're not going to wake up tomorrow and…for this to just be like…a rebound thing."

"Everything about you is sudden to me Paige," Emily said steadily, sliding her palm along Paige's torso until she found Paige's hand, lacing their fingers together. "That's not a bad thing. And this isn't a 'rebound' thing."

"It's not?" Paige said, sounding relieved.

"You're…unexpected," Emily said, a smile tugging onto her lips. "And sudden…but it doesn't matter because most of all you feel right."


	10. Chapter 10

_It took so long again, I'm so so sorry. Things have quieted down quite a bit, so it won't take so long next time round. Thank you as always for all the wonderful feedback and sticking with it, it's lovely (and encouraging) to know so many people have enjoyed this so far, and I hope you enjoy this update :)_

**_Chapter 10: Fall_**

Emily took her time in the shower, using the time to herself to calm her mind. For all she knew she probably shouldn't be; it was a long time coming in retrospect, she was surprised by how quickly things had escalated between Paige and herself the night before, how easily the desperation and desire had taken over her; how easily it took over Paige. Her mind flitted back to the feel of Paige above her, inside her, all around her, her stomach dipping with excitement when she remembered last night was barely a prelude of things to come. That the next time they gave in to their desire for one another they would take things slow. Explore, learn.

She could strip Paige's clothing away, each time revealing more of the skin she'd so desperately desired beneath it; kiss her in places she had yet to kiss; touch her in places she had yet to touch. Feel their bodes pressed together, skin against skin, taste...

"Em! Is that you in there? You gotta get out I think I'm gonna puke."

Emily snapped from her thoughts at the sound of Hanna's recognizably groggy voice coming from outside the bathroom coupled with a loud banging against the door. Turning off the shower, she quickly wrapped a towel around herself, grabbing a smaller one for her hair before opening the door, barely getting it halfway open before Hanna was barging past her.

She dressed quickly; she couldn't pinpoint exactly where it was coming from, but she felt positively giddy at the prospect of seeing Paige again, even if they hadn't actually parted all morning besides the 30 minutes or so she'd spent getting dressed. She sat on her bed for a moment, once again trying to find some kind of calm, to quell some of the excitement bubbling within her. For all she and Paige had taken another step forward in their burgeoning relationship, she wanted to keep up the steady pace they had set thus far, unwilling to upset the balance they'd settled into.

Emily glanced down the hallway, frowning slightly at the sight of the empty couch, before her attention was redirected to the kitchen; hearing a loud clatter followed by a soft curse. She followed the sound down the hallway, a smile instantly tugging onto her lips at what she found.

Paige was bobbing about the kitchen from cupboard to cupboard, a pan on the hob, humming to herself before releasing another almost silent curse as she dropped an egg, scurrying around as she tried to clean it up. Emily let out a small chuckle at the action, Paige springing to a halt and her eyes widening as she realised Emily was watching her.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked, biting back a grin at Paige's feeble attempt to act cool and collected.

"Hey! Um, breakfast," Paige shrugged, pointing towards the pan on the hob. "I saw Hanna…she looks like a corpse this morning, so I figured…you don't mind me sticking around for a little longer right?"

"Why would I mind?" Emily asked, watching as Paige turned her attention back to the pan.

"You're bound to get sick of me sometime," Paige said with a chuckle, moving back to the pan on the hob and flipping the pancakes.

Emily didn't answer, instead taking a seat at the table and fixing her gaze on Paige, smiling at Paige's apparent ease in the kitchen, the almost methodical way she was preparing breakfast and the slight hint of nervousness she could pick up on as she realised Paige could feel her eyes on her.

_She could get used to this. _

"Are you okay?" Paige asked as Emily went quiet, her eyes still fixed on the pan in front of her.

"Very okay," Emily said with a soft smile.

"You sure?" Paige asked, turning to Emily to see the other girl nodding. She turned off the hob and glanced around the kitchen. "Do you have a plate?"

"I do," Emily nodded, standing up and making her way towards Paige, placing her hands either side of Paige on the counter, effectively trapping her.

"Can I have it?" Paige said, pointing a thumb in the direction of the discarded pancakes behind her. Emily nodded once again, only to lean forward and press her lips to Paige's, an ever-growing smile still on her lips. She kissed Paige softly once, twice, before slowly gliding her tongue over her bottom lip, their tongues meeting briefly as Emily deepened the kiss. Paige's hands came up to cup Emily's face before Emily finally pulled away, smirking at Paige's flushed cheeks before walking to the opposite side of the kitchen, handing Paige a small plate.

"What was that for?" Paige asked, looking slightly dazed as she placed the plate down, watching intently as Emily leant back against the counter opposite her.

"No reason," Emily shrugged. Paige plated up the pancakes while Emily moved to grab some syrup, taking the plate from Paige and setting it down on the table before grabbing Paige's wrist to stop her from taking a seat. "Thank you."

"For what?" Paige asked, lifting her hand to toy lightly with the tips of Emily's hair.

"Breakfast," Emily said with a smile, wrapping her arms around Paige's neck; Paige's hands instinctively coming to rest on Emily's hips. "And just…for always planning our dates, cooking when I come over, making us little hideaways on rooftops, just…thank you."

"It's my pleasure," Paige smirked, making Emily giggle slightly as she bypassed her lips and kissed the tip of her nose softly.

"I'm going to make it up to you," Emily proclaimed, burying her face into Paige's shoulder, closing her eyes and sighing happily. Paige's arms were quickly becoming one of her favourite places to be.

"You are?" Paige chuckled a little, pulling back slightly to try to gauge just what Emily meant. "You know, you showing up kind of makes it worth my while anyway."

"You make me feel special," Emily mumbled into Paige's neck; their proximity or perhaps the simple ease that always seemed to come hand in hand with Paige's company making her feel comfortable enough to say that aloud and share it with the other girl. "I want to do the same for you."

_You do. _Paige bit back the words, instead settling for tugging Emily closer, hoping Emily couldn't hear the frantic beating of her heart. It was taking over her. More correctly Emily was taking over her. It felt a little surreal, Emily talking about her like that, holding onto her so tightly. It barely felt real; it wasn't often the things she wanted came to her so easily. And she wanted Emily, desperately. She felt her pulse quicken further, burying her nose into Emily's hair to try to mask her breathing as the panic began to set in. It was too much; the feeling she got when Emily would touch her, was near her, it was indescribable. And terrifying. And perfect. It was no longer something she could control.

She couldn't decide whether she wanted to control it, or if she was happy to let it consume her.

"Paige McCullers, you are my hero."

Paige looked to the doorway to find Hanna padding into the kitchen, still looking a little worse for wear, her eyes thankfully fixed on the food on the table as Paige quickly untangled herself from Emily's embrace. The blonde took a seat, hastily piling the pancakes onto her plate, completely oblivious to the way Emily's eyes were now glued to the slightly amusing panic on Paige's face.

"Are you two sitting down? Grab some soon or else I'm going to eat them all, you've been warned," Hanna added through a mouthful, Emily taking her seat.

"I'm going to go get dressed," Paige said with a smile. "Enjoy though."

"You want me to save you some?" Emily asked, pointing to the way Hanna was practically shovelling her food into her mouth, Paige shaking her head in response.

"I'll get something later," she smiled, leaning down to peck Emily's lips firmly, making it to the kitchen door before realising her mistake.

She turned hoping to find Hanna too distracted by her breakfast to have noticed, only to find Hanna's eyebrow raised quizzically, Emily's eyes fixed on her. "Um…"

She mouthed a quick sorry before turning on her heel and continuing down the hallway, feeling slightly cowardly for leaving Emily to face Hanna's certain questioning alone; yet at the same time she wanted Emily to be able to tell Hanna whatever it was she had told Spencer without having to do it in front of her. For whatever reason she felt this relationship was still very much on Emily's terms.

"What was that?" Hanna asked expectantly. Emily's mouth opened to speak, before she closed it and shrugged. She could see the grin forming on Hanna's face out of the corner of her eye. "Paige just kissed you! And you were all cuddled up when I walked in here…Well?"

"Paige and I…" Emily began, unable to think of where to begin. Thankfully the look of realisation was already dawning on Hanna's face, Emily simply giving Hanna a nod to the silent question she was asking.

"Oh my god!" Hanna exclaimed in a hushed voice, giddily squeaking as she bounced in her seat. "If I didn't feel like a truck ran me over last night I'd kiss you myself! You and Paige? _Finally! _What the hell took you so long? How did it happen? Did you get frisky on the couch? Are you actually like dating now?"

_"Hanna,"_ Emily said rubbing her temples, now realising that her morning was going to be spent getting the third degree from her friend. "It's…kind of a long story."

* * *

For all it was a relief, everything being out in the open, a part of Emily sort of wished it wasn't; that she could rewind the past 48 hours, and go back to Paige being her secret. It made her feel selfish, the _idea _that she wanted to hide her relationship with Paige, because she really didn't, not at all. She liked dating Paige_, _the more time she spent thinking about it the luckier she felt to be doing so. She liked that there was never any pressure. Like Paige herself said, she was happy for the two of them to just _be_. They were just Emily and Paige, two people who happened to rather like each other.

She had a feeling that this was going to happen once Hanna found out. Hanna, through not fault of her own and with no cruel intentions, seemed to have developed a certain knack for pointing out all the things Emily and Paige had left unsaid or undecided.

Like now for instance. Much like the week before, Hanna suggested they pop in to see Paige as Emily drove her back from visiting her Mom, and Emily naturally jumped at the chance. She hadn't seen Paige for two days, and there was something about simply being near Paige that always made her day a little brighter.

She was happy, of course she was happy that Hanna was so happy for her, it was just another thing to add to the ever-growing list of reasons that admitting her feelings for Paige had been the right choice. But it was still all so new. Fragile and new. For all Paige was behind the counter, Emily was certain that she would be able to hear at least half the things Hanna was saying, most of them about Paige. Paige and Emily to be exact.

"What is taking her so long," Hanna whined, staring at the counter like it would magically make Paige come over quicker.

"Hey, stop whining," Emily said, frowning at the other girl. "She looks really busy, don't be a brat."

"Sorry," Hanna said, a small smirk forming on her lips. "Aww, look at you! Getting all protective over your _girlfriend_."

_There it was. Unsaid and undecided._

_"Hanna,"_ Emily said warningly, she was already growing tired of the girlfriend quips.

"I still can't believe you never told me," Hanna said shaking her head for about the fifth time that day, holding her hand up as Emily began to protest. "I get why, you don't need to explain. _Again_."

"She's not my _girlfriend_, don't call her that," Emily stressed after about the third time of Hanna using the word, feeling kind of ridiculous for doing so. If Paige wasn't her girlfriend then what was she? But then again, there was a reason they had decided to leave it at _'I like you, and you like me'_ for the time being.

"She basically is," Hanna shrugged with a grin. "What? Why are you acting so weird about it?"

"I'm not being weird," Emily began, frowning as she spoke.

It was only a word, she knew it shouldn't be bothering her this much. Paige was practically her girlfriend, or would be eventually. At some point. Maybe even now.

If she was to be truly honest, she wanted to be her girlfriend. The more time she spent with Paige the happier she was. But she also liked this version of them. The no pressure version of them. She didn't want a simple word like girlfriend upsetting their balance.

"I just…the last thing I want is to be getting into another serious relationship so soon." _It was only half a lie._

"Uh, that doesn't really work when the first thing you want is _Paige_," Hanna teased once again. Emily groaned.

"Look I like this, as we are now, I'm happy," Emily shrugged, trying to brush the conversation off quickly, Paige throwing her a quick grin from across the café, seemingly oblivious. "It's just a little too early for the G word. I don't want to…upset the balance by putting a label on things too soon."

"Okay…"

"I know it sounds stupid, but whenever I hear the word girlfriend all I think of is Ellie," Emily said, getting flustered.

_"Please _tell me you aren't thinking of ditching Paige for Ellie, ugh Em! I swear I'd _disown_ you," Hanna said, crinkling her nose in disgust. "Well, I'd support you because I love you, but inside I'd be really _really _pissed off."

"That's not what I meant," Emily sighed, trying to think of the best way to explain it. Every time she heard the word _'girlfriend'_ all she could picture, no matter how hard she tried not to, was Ellie, but not in the way Hanna thought. It was how quickly she and Ellie had become official during college, and how slowly they'd let that relationship die, how easily they ended up strangers. If she was certain of anything it was that she never wanted that to happen with Paige. "We go serious far too early on, and look what happened to us Han, I don't want that to happen with Paige. So can you just stop calling her my girlfriend, for now? She is _not _my girlfriend…"

"Hi," Paige said, making her presence known behind them.

Emily turned to find her standing sheepishly, two plates in hand. Emily's stomach dropped a little at the prospect of Paige overhearing her.

"You guys ordered well," Paige smiled, Emily worrying that she was avoiding eye contact.

"Do you get a break?" Hanna asked casually, clearly sensing the slight awkwardness in the air.

"I have to work through it today. In the back. So um, I probably won't be out here when you guys are done," Paige shrugged. "I'll see you Friday though, birthday girl."

"Don't remind me, I'm so _old,_" Hanna sighed, tucking into her food.

"Twenty-three is hardly old, Han," Emily chuckled, happy to see a small smile appearing on Paige's face at her words.

"I should get back," Paige said, motioning behind her to a stern looking woman, Emily deciding it was most likely her boss.

"Paige…" Emily began, intending to say something, anything to try to explain the things Paige may have heard her saying, only to be cut off, somewhat surprisingly, by Paige's soft lips on her own.

"I'll call you. You look great today by the way, as always." Paige said, giving her a small smile, squeezing her shoulder softly before walking towards the stern woman, the two exchanging what appeared to be heated words before Paige disappeared into the kitchen.

"Yeah, she's _not _your girlfriend," Hanna said sarcastically, Emily rolling her eyes. "But if she's not…she should be."

* * *

"So let me get this straight; you won't talk to Hanna until you've found this guy, who's address, surname…basically anything useful to us you don't know, out of the slight possibility…we're talking _slight, _that he might know another guy who just _might_ be able to offer shabby evidence in her Mom's not existent appeal?" Paige sat back with a sigh. "I'm all for eternal optimism, and I love a grand gesture…but this is a serious long shot."

"It's what started the whole break up," Caleb said, shaking his head. "She'd found this guy and I scared him off. I need to fix that if she's going to even consider taking me back…"

"No you don't," Paige said sternly. "It doesn't need fixing. All those things left unsaid need _resolving_, and then you can work from there. Together, you and Hanna. How that goes, you have no control over."

"I still don't believe you," Caleb said with a shake of the head; for some reason that was oblivious to Paige he still believed that Hanna didn't want to see him again.

"Well you should." She shrugged. "She leaves for New York in two weeks. It's her birthday on Thursday…"

"Friday." Caleb corrected.

"See? So can we just drop the crap? I just want to wrap you in a big bow and be like _ta da!_ Happy birthday Hanna."

"Very funny," Caleb rolled his eyes. "I'll make you a deal. I'll meet up with Hanna if you talk with your Dad."

"Cos that's a fair trade," Paige scoffed, the comment seemingly coming out of nowhere. "Hanna and you, there's a real chance of a happy ending there. My Dad and I…honestly, I think that ship has sailed."

"So what?" Caleb asked, Paige bracing herself for a talking to. "You see your family as and when, say hi to your Mom once in a while, knowing how much it kills her when you disappear for weeks on end? Spend the holidays alone because you can't go home? What about Evan, don't you think it's confusing for him to see you and then go back to a house where everyone acts like you don't exist?"

"I think about that all the time," Paige said sadly.

"People change Paige," Caleb said. "Maybe not his views, or his attitude, but a guy with health like his? Surely he's figured out by now that life's too short to be disowning children."

Paige opened her mouth to protest, before sighing as she realised he was right. Maybe it wasn't just her that their rift was effecting.

"Whatever, still not a fair trade."

* * *

"Oh my god!" Emily laughed in disbelief, looking down to see cake mixture all over her clothes but most annoyingly of all, all over her face and in her… "It's in my _hair _Paige."

"You knew coming into this that I'm a messy cook," Paige shrugged, grinning goofily, Emily taking a moment to note that Paige was similarly covered in cake mix. Hanna's birthday was in two days, and as promised the week before Spencer had delegated the task of birthday cake to Emily. Paige had kept her word from earlier in the week, and here they were, baking together, even if most of the ingredients were all over both of them instead of in the cake tins. Paige, for all she was messy, also seemed to have a thing for food fights.

"You did this on purpose," Emily said pointedly, watching as Paige tried her best to hold in a laugh.

"Maybe…" Paige said, ducking as Emily flicked some flour in her direction.

It started out tamely enough, Emily throwing some more flour in Paige's direction, Paige retaliating by catapulting some cake mix at Emily from her spoon, until somehow it had escalated to the two of them chasing each other around the kitchen.

They chased each other around the counter, shrieking and giggling until Emily finally caught onto Paige, smushing a handful of icing into Paige's shoulder only to misjudge her footing; sending both girls tumbling to the ground with a thud.

"Are you okay?" Emily said as she rubbed the shoulder she'd landed on, lifting herself off of Paige and giggling slightly at the mess of the girl beneath her. "Sorry."

"You will be," Paige giggled, quickly reversing their positions, now hovering above Emily, softly brushing away some flour from her cheek.

Emily lay still, reaching up to twirl a some of Paige's hair between her fingertips as it hung loose, waiting patiently for Paige to move, but not really wanting her to. Thankfully Paige began to lean down, pecking Emily's lips chastely before pulling back, grinning as Emily lifted herself slightly to connect their lips softly once again, her hands coming to rest on Paige's lower back.

The atmosphere had changed noticeably; seeing the want creeping into Paige's eyes caused Emily to shiver in anticipation. Paige's lips were on hers again within an instant, Emily moaning into the kiss at the slight forcefulness of it along with Paige's weight above her, effectively pinning her to the ground. Paige broke away from the kiss, only to begin trailing heated kisses down Emily's neck, her teeth grazing the skin every now and then, eliciting a moan from the other girl.

_Emily Fields was intoxicating. _

Paige couldn't come up with any other word for it. There was something about being this close to her that clouded all of her senses, she could feel herself straining hard to hold back. The effort it was taking to keep her kisses leisurely, to trail them down Emily's neck but resist the urge to continue down further was driving her insane. She could feel herself becoming more insistent, nipping and sucking, her hands beginning to roam beneath Emily's shirt, Emily whimpering beneath her.

"Paige…" Emily's voice was breathy, and it only served to drive Paige on. Touching her was no longer enough. She needed to see her, all of her.

Emily's hands tangled into Paige's hair, tugging Paige up again until their lips reconnected. Their tongues battled, though neither girl managed to gain the upper hand. Emily let out a surprised squeak, feeling Paige's hands beginning to make quick work of the buttons of her shirt.

"Paige!" Emily gasped, Paige's hands stilling instantly as their eyes met.

"Too fast?" Paige asked, still trying to catch her breath.

_"Dawn,"_ Emily said with a shake of her head. Paige understood, recalling the last time things had started to get hot and heavy in her apartment; she was certain no party would be happy should Dawn catch them again, especially considering the state of the kitchen.

"Right," Paige said, helping Emily up and straightening out her clothes. "And cake, we should really y'know…actually bake some of this," Paige added, motioning to the mess that covered them and most of the kitchen.

"Or we could…" Emily began, her eyes flitting to the doorway before blushing slightly as Paige looked at her with a quirked eyebrow. "…you're right we should get this finished."

Paige nodded in understanding, trying her best to calm the desire coursing through her. She would just have to be patient.

* * *

"You don't think it's too much?" Paige asked sceptically, standing back and looking at the cake they had finally managed to finish.

"This is Hanna we're talking about Paige, the bigger the better," Emily laughed, wiping away the last of the remnants of their food fight from the kitchen counter. "What are you doing?" she asked, watching Paige scribbling something down onto a post-it.

"Writing Dawn a note telling her to keep her hands off the cake," Paige smiled, sticking the post it in front of the plate. "If she get's home late, she's normally got the munchies."

"Do you mind if I borrow some clothes to head home in? And maybe take a shower? It'll be kind of a giveaway if Hanna sees me like this, don't you think?" Emily asked, motioning to her flour stained clothing from their food fight earlier. Paige let out a little laugh, looking down to see that she was in a similar state. How they'd gotten the kitchen so clean afterwards was a mystery. She made her way towards Emily, bringing her hands up to rest on the other girls hips.

"You can take a shower," Paige said, pausing for a moment before leaning forward to kiss Emily softly. "And borrow some clothes," she smirked, kissing Emily softly once again. "But do you have to go home tonight?"

"You want me to spend the night?" Emily asked, feeling her pulse quicken slightly at the prospect.

"I do," Paige smiled, trying her best to mask her own nervousness and keep her eyes fixed on Emily. "If you want to."

"I do," Emily said, biting back a grin.

"Fresh towels are in the cabinet in the bathroom, clothes are in my dresser. Dump these outside the bathroom and I'll throw our stuff in the laundry," Paige smiled, unable to resist leaning in to peck Emily's lips once more. "Go ahead, I'll finish up here."

"I'll try not to take too long," Emily said, smiling thankfully before making her way out of the kitchen.

Paige turned back to the sink, washing the dishes one by one, trying not to let her nerves take over her. She knew there was no reason to be nervous, she and Emily had stayed together before, been intimate before, and she was fairly confident that both she and Emily wanted to do that again, and tonight. Slowly this time. And naked.

She turned the tap off in a panic, glancing down the corridor to check Emily had shut the bathroom door behind her before running hastily to her bedroom.

_"Shit,"_ she sighed, looking from left to right, cursing herself as she took in the unkemptness of the room. She ran around hurriedly, picking up clothes from the floor and kicking any random clutter she came across under her bed, straightening her covers out as she passed them.

"Paige?" She startled slightly, turning to find Emily peeking her head around the door. "I can't figure out how to work your shower."

"Oh, It sticks sometimes. I'll show you," Paige said, dropping the pile of clothes she'd collected in the corner and making her way into the hallway, her brain short-circuiting as she watched Emily sauntering down the hallway in nothing but a towel.

"Paige?" Emily said as she reached the bathroom, turning to find Paige standing still outside her room.

"Sorry," Paige said, realising she'd been caught gawking as she hurried into the bathroom. "You turn this like this…and um, this one for the temperature."

"I think I've got it." Emily said, turning to find Paige once again glued to the spot, her eyes fixed on Emily's left hand; the one that was gripping her towel.

"Right," Paige said, her eyes snapping up to Emily's with a brisk smile before making her way to the door. "Enjoy."

"Paige?" Emily's voice stopped her again, Paige turning to find Emily looking at her intently. "Um…" Emily began, motioning to the shower, before seemingly changing her mind about whatever she was about to ask and turning away from her. Paige watched as Emily exhaled shakily, dropping the towel after a beat, Paige's jaw hanging open as she caught the slightest glimpse of Emily's bare skin before the other girl pulled across the shower curtain. "Thanks."

* * *

Paige took her time getting cleaned up, needing the moment alone to calm her racing mind. She was practically buzzing with anticipation about what could happen.

She gave herself another quick once-over in the mirror, deciding she'd gotten rid of the majority of the mess before making her way back towards her bedroom.

The sight she was greeted with made her mind short-circuit for the third time that evening. Emily was lying on her bed, wearing nothing but one of Paige's shirts, buttoned up only partly, her long legs crossed as she played around on her phone, Paige's mouth running dry as she trailed her eyes up over the exposed skin.

"Hey," Emily said, scooting up the bed as Paige sat down beside her, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"Hi," Paige said, taking comfort in the fact that Emily also seemed a little nervous.

"I figured I'd just wait in here," Emily began, placing her phone on the bedside table. "I didn't know what you wanted to do tonight."

"Whatever you like," Paige shrugged. "Movie?"

"I'm sort of comfortable here," Emily said biting her lower lip, scooting a little closer to Paige. Paige leant in ever so slightly with a smirk of her own, only to be cut off by Emily reaching for her phone once again, the kiss landing awkwardly on Emily's shoulder.

"Sorry," Emily said, turning to Paige apologetically as she tapped out a quick reply to the message, making a show of turning her phone off after it sent. "Ellie needed…"

"You still talk to Ellie?" Paige said, a little more jealousy creeping into her tone than she cared for. As ridiculous as she knew it was deep down, she still had an underlying fear that Emily was going to eventually wake up and realise she wanted her old life back. That this was all a surreal dream that was going to end sooner or later.

"Not really no," Emily said, setting her phone back down and turning to face Paige. "Never to be honest. I start at her dad's place on Monday, and she needs, well she claims she needs my email address so he can send me some forms over…though why he can't ask me himself I don't know, or why she doesn't already have it considering…"

"She obviously just misses you," Paige shrugged, tugging at Emily until she was straddling Paige's waist, Emily lacing their fingers together to balance herself, blushing slightly at the way Paige's eyes raked over her. "I mean…_look at you_. It must suck being your ex."

"I'm sure there are plenty girls out there that feel the same way about you," Emily said, softly brushing a strand of hair behind Paige's ear.

"I doubt it. I've never really been one for girlfriends," Paige said nonchalantly, Emily stiffening slightly at the strange coldness to Paige's words. Paige frowned, she hadn't meant it like that.

"Come here," Paige said, shaking her head. She knew she needed to stop talking before she said something that could ruin tonight. She could only think of one sure-fire way to make sure she kept her mouth shut.

Cupping Emily's cheek softly, she tugged Emily closer, letting her lips linger just close enough for Emily to take the hint and close the distance between them.

The kiss soon grew heated, Paige noting the little nips and sucks Emily was lavishing onto her bottom lip. Emily pushed Paige back against the headboard as she pulled away, sitting up and smirking down at the girl. She swept her hair back before leaning down and kissing Paige passionately, goosebumps gracing her skin as she felt Paige's hands ghosting over her bare thighs. She trailed them upwards, cupping Emily's ass over her underwear, revelling in the feel of the soft lace beneath her fingertips, her fingertips digging into the supple flesh, unable to hold back the moan that escaped her lips. Emily pulled back from the kiss, her eyes closed as she exhaled shakily.

"Everything okay?" Paige asked in concern, looking up at Emily who had frozen still.

"It's just been a while," Emily blushed. "I know we…the other night? I just mean it's been a while since…I haven't really been with that many people…"

"I get you," Paige nodded, Emily relaxing sightly at the way Paige was looking up at her with kind concern in her eyes, the kind she was beginning to associate with Paige.

Paige reached up to cup Emily's cheek softly before leaning in to peck her lips. She knew that for all they had slept together earlier that week, tonight was going to be wholly different. They were sober this time, both from alcohol and the romantic air of the set-up on the roof. Things were going to be slow, clothes were going to be shed, their desperation from earlier was going to be replaced with a different kind of intimacy. "We'll just go slow yeah?"

Emily leant down, kissing Paige firmly in response, the two soon falling back into the rhythm they had set up before. Emily slipped her tongue into Paige's mouth, moaning into the kiss as she felt Paige's hands once again giving her ass a quick squeeze.

She sat back again, locking eyes with Paige as she began to slowly unbutton her shirt. Paige's breath caught slightly as Emily's stomach came into view, her eyes trailing upwards to find the shirt hanging loosely around her chest, just enough to teasingly reveal the swell of her breasts.

"Shouldn't you get that?" Paige looked up to find Emily pointing at her phone, coming out of her daze to recognise the ring tone was her own.

"I think it can wait," Paige smirked before rearing up, capturing Emily's lips in a deep kiss, her hands sliding beneath Emily's shirt to wrap around her waist. It wasn't long until Emily was tugging at the hem of Paige's shirt, pulling it up and off before reconnecting their lips once again. Paige began hastily pushing Emily's shirt from her shoulders, the feeling of their bare stomachs coming into contact making her crave even more.

"Maybe it's important," Emily sighed, pulling back as the phone began blaring a second time. Paige groaned as Emily climbed off of her, frowning as she watched Emily beginning to button her shirt.

"Hold on," Paige said, stilling Emily's hands with her own before answering the phone.

"Hi, um I'm kind of busy right…" Emily's brow furrowed as she felt Paige's hand slipping away, watching as Paige scooted to the edge of the bed as she talked. "It's just right now's not the best…he what? Is he okay? Ok I'll call you when I get there."

"Everything okay?" Emily asked in concern as Paige hung up, watching as Paige slumped back onto her bed.

"Yeah…um, I'm sorry Em I've got to go," Paige sighed, sitting up and giving Emily an apologetic look. "My Mom had to take my Dad to the hospital and she doesn't really like leaving Evan alone and Caitlin is dodging curfew, so I have to go over there and maybe pick her first..."

"Is he okay?" Emily asked, watching Paige shrug in slight discomfort in response.

"I'm sorry," Paige said again, finally locating her shirt and tugging it on.

"Are you okay Paige?" Emily asked once again, standing up to get dressed only to remember her clothes were in the laundry.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Paige said, Emily staying quiet despite not believing the other girl. She knew Paige and her Father didn't get along, but she hadn't failed to notice the serious shift in Paige's demeanour since the phone call ended, or the panic etched on her face. She had yet to actually find out what was actually wrong with him or what was going on with Paige's family as a whole for that matter, but she also knew it was a sensitive subject, one that perhaps wasn't any of her business.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Emily asked, instantly regretting the question at the way Paige visibly stiffened. "Or if you like I could go find Caitlin and drop her off on my way home, save you a trip."

"No, no that's a terrible idea," Paige said, regretting her words as she caught sight of the slight hurt gracing Emily's face. For all she hated the fact, since her conversation with her Mother about Emily a few weeks earlier the first thing that had popped into her mind was her Father's request that she kept her at arm's length around her siblings. "Uh I just mean…I didn't mean terrible."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Emily said as she stood, sitting back down dejectedly once again remembering she didn't have any clothes to change in to.

"No, no, thank you for offering its just," Paige began, frantically trying to come up with a reason that didn't make her sound like an asshole. "My family is complicated. If my Mom came home and saw you there and asked about you…Emily she can't even say the word _girlfriend_ so if she knew I actually have a girl…" Paige's eye's dropped to the ground at the slip, her mind instinctively flitting back to the memory of overhearing Emily insisting to Hanna that she wasn't Paige's girlfriend earlier that week. She understood Emily's reasoning, but it had stung none the less. "Not that you're my…"

"Girlfriend." Emily finished, noting the panic on the other girls face. Perhaps they were going to have this conversation sooner rather than later. Something about how panicked Paige had become was beginning to worry her.

"Sorry," Paige began, moving away as Emily reached out for her. "I didn't mean to imply…"

"Paige it's okay…"

"It's not, you don't want that, I understand," Paige said with a forced smile, Emily's heart sinking as she realised Paige had overheard her talking to Hanna, and had clearly got the wrong impression.

"If this is about what I said to Hanna it had nothing to do with not wanting…"

"I should really get going," Paige said, hastily grabbing her jacket from the floor. "You don't have to leave right away, just take your time to get ready, the door locks behind itself."

"But Paige…" Emily said once again, starting to worry slightly about the sudden distance between them.

"I need to go." Paige smiled briefly, leaning down to kiss Emily's cheek before making her way out of the bedroom.

* * *

There was something about seeing her childhood home that always gave Paige a sense of longing. It wasn't how you were supposed to feel when you went home after being away for a while, she knew that. It was meant to feel…well like home. Safe. For some reason it always filled her with a sense of dread, and on the days when the dread wasn't there it was replaced with emptiness. She didn't know which one she preferred, or if she had a preference. She just wanted it to feel like home again, like her home. She was growing tired of feeling so out-of-place.

Evan was fast asleep on her lap, a quick glance to the clock letting her know she had been there well over 3 hours, Paige deciding she must have dozed off herself. With some effort she picked him up, carrying him up to his room. She wandered across the hallway, peeking her head into Caitlin's room, thankful that the younger girl hadn't tried to sneak out; a regular occurrence when her parents were away.

She hesitated for a moment, her eyes instinctively flitting down the hallway as she clicked the door shut. It occurred to her that it was very possible she hadn't been on the second story of the house since she'd moved out. Figuring there was nothing stopping her, she crept down the hallway towards her old bedroom, slowly pushing the door open and stepping inside.

It was the strangest feeling. The room felt so familiar yet at the same time it was like another world. As if she had stepped into an alternate universe, that somewhere in some other dimension there was a girl who was a little like her that resided in this room, this room that had gone untouched and unchanged since she was eighteen years old. She quickly pulled the door closed, squeezing her eyes shut to try to block out any memory of that girl and the memories she'd so desperately avoided since she had left; the memories she still desperately pushed away now she'd returned.

She hurriedly made her way back down the staircase, intent on napping on the couch until her Mother woke her and then she would get the hell out of here. This wasn't her home. Not anymore. For all she knew she needed to fix that, she was also fairly certain she wasn't ready to.

The universe, it seemed, didn't really care if she was ready or not. At the sound of a key in the lock she stopped dead in the hallway, her limbs frozen as she realised her Mom was home sooner than expected.

It wasn't her Mom that her eyes settled on.

Four years perhaps, that was how long since she'd last saw him properly. It was only ever at a glance since she'd moved back to Philadelphia. He looked smaller. Thinner. Older. Somehow less towering than he used to be. But he still terrified her. And at the same time, she felt the overwhelming desire to run into his arms and beg for forgiveness.

"Paige, you're still awake," her Mother said, smiling softly at her as she tugged off her jacket. Paige gave her a quick smile in response, her eyes once again fixing on her Father. She willed herself to speak; fate had done the hard part for her and got them in the same room, she had to make the most of it.

"Are you okay Dad?" She asked, the word _Dad _feeling foreign on her tongue. She couldn't actually decide what it was she actually wanted to say to him now that the opportunity had presented itself, and enquiring about his health seemed like the easiest option.

"You can go now."

His response was like a punch to the gut. It was like he hadn't even registered her presence. She couldn't even remember whether he'd even bothered to look at her since he entered the house. It hadn't hit her until now, until she was around him, how desperately she'd actually _wanted _to see him. To speak to him. To try to put the past behind them. It appeared he did not feel the same way.

It was all too much. She didn't know whether she wanted to scream in anger or cry in despair.

"Paige honey it's late, you should stay here tonight…" her Mother began but the words barely registered. Paige had hardly even noticed that she'd began tugging on her coat. She had to leave. She couldn't stand to be in the house any longer.

She couldn't even bring herself to flash her Mom the apologetic look she had grown accustomed to giving her every time she left. She didn't even want to think of what would happen if her Mom began berating her Father for disregarding Paige so easily once she was out of earshot.

Her feet had taken over her mind, hastily making their way to the front door, a barely there goodbye escaping her lips before she ran out into the night.

* * *

Paige yawned, stretching out as she entered her apartment. She almost hadn't come back, having to fight the urge to drive as far as she could, start over in a brand new city. She knew she couldn't keep running. She was stronger than that now.

It was almost light out. She had left her parents house around midnight, only now realising as she took in the light creeping into the night sky that she'd been driving around aimlessly for most of the night. She popped her head into the kitchen, thankful at least that Dawn had apparently heeded her warning; Hanna's cake was still intact.

Last night had drained her. Earlier that week she had taken Caleb's words on board, she knew Caleb was right; she couldn't keep using her Father's poor health as an excuse to avoid him, if anything she knew deep down it should be a reason to not avoid him any longer. She had begun cooking up ways to talk to him since that day; thinking of things to say, a plan to fix things, fix them. But now it was beginning to dawn on her that it wasn't just her job to make the effort. He had to try too. And for the first time in a long time she felt pain, real pain as she realised perhaps he simply didn't want to. The entire thought, coupled with the severe lack of sleep she was beginning to feel had her craving her bed; for sleep and for silence.

Her brow furrowed in confusion as she entered her bedroom, wondering why on earth Dawn was asleep in her bed.

It soon became clear that it wasn't Dawn snoozing beneath the covers.

"Emily?"

She slowly padded over to her bed to find Emily sleeping softly, Paige taken aback by how much of a comfort her still being here was right now. She smiled at the sight; she found Emily beautiful on pretty much every occasion, but there was something about how content Emily seemed to look whilst sleeping that made her even more beautiful in Paige's eyes. She tugged off her jeans, slipping beneath the covers and sighing at the comfort, her eyes once again settling on Emily.

Looking across at her then she knew, just knew that Emily had her completely. There was nothing she could do to change it. It scared her a little, how much of a hold she had allowed one person to have over her, how much she now craved the other girl and how little she could do to change it. It was terrifying in a way, how much want she could feel coursing through her veins, how she could feel so comfortable with yet simultaneously so terrified of someone. She knew it was more than just lust, that she had fallen hard; there was no going back now. She had no control. Emily could break her, easily. It almost made her want to run away and never come back. The thought that she might not have the same effect on Emily, that Emily might not feel the same way about her, made her heart ache with worry.

She didn't know what it was that she was feeling as she lay watching her. Or maybe she did.

She was scared to put a word to it.


	11. Chapter 11

_100+ reviews, that's insane. Sincerest thank you's to anyone that takes the time to review, and thank you for all the follows/faves, you're all far too good to me. And finally, an update that didn't take completely forever! I didn't have much time to edit it, so sorry for any typos/general mistakes. _

**_Chapter 11: If You'll Have Me_**

Emily buried her face into her pillow, letting out a discontented sigh as she stirred back into consciousness. She couldn't remember falling asleep; couldn't even remember climbing beneath the covers for that matter. She lifted her arm to wipe the sleep from her eyes, only for it to stall in its movement as it caught against soft skin. She looked to her left to find Paige sleeping soundly beside her; as she cast her eyes down she found Paige's hand clinging to her shirt, holding on to it tightly as she slept. Emily wondered if it had been a conscious action, or something that had occurred throughout the night; either way a sense of ease washed over her with the knowledge that Paige hadn't objected to her spending the night.

Emily couldn't decide why she'd ended up staying the whole night; all she knew was that she hadn't been able to stop herself making excuse after excuse to stay a little longer. In her initial reluctance to leave she'd decided to find the laundry room, figuring she was okay to stick around at least until her clothes were done in the dryer. She was glad that Paige hadn't gotten round to checking it before she left; waiting for them to dry was the perfect excuse to stay while she waited for them; more truthfully now she thought back to it, while she waited for Paige. Once that was done, Emily returned to Paige's room to gather her things, and, after taking in the slight unkemptness of it all, decided it wouldn't do any harm if she stuck around to neaten the place up a bit. She wondered now if Paige had noticed the difference when she'd eventually returned; if it gave away how restless she had become whilst waiting for Paige to come home.

As for why she hadn't been able to bring herself to leave; Emily didn't know what was keeping her here. Perhaps it was worry caused by the wealth of unreadable emotions that had graced Paige's face when she'd hung up the phone, or how unsettled Paige became after her slip up, if she could even call it that. _Girlfriend. _It was only a word, it didn't have to cause so much trouble, but the fear in Paige's eyes as it had passed her lips let Emily know that it may well have. She liked them as they were. Pressure free. She wasn't sure she was ready to have the 'what are we' talk, still afraid of what it might do to the balance they'd so easily settled into.

She cast her eyes back to Paige; Paige's brow knitted into a tight frown as she slept. She didn't look peaceful, she looked pained; the look coupled with the vice like grip Paige had on Emily's shirt allowing Emily to feel confident in her suspicion that Paige probably hadn't had the best of nights.

Her hand came up almost instinctively to smooth across Paige's furrowed brow; as if she could take away some of the tension simply with her touch. It was all Emily could think of to do, a small comforting gesture to try to counteract the sense of hopelessness that had imbedded into her ever since Paige had left the night before.

It seemed to have the opposite effect; Paige jolted under Emily's fingertips, the hand gripping Emily's shirt loosening as Paige's eyes fluttered open. She watched as Paige's eyes darted around for a moment, her hand falling away from Emily as she brought it up to rub her eyes.

"You're still here," Paige said croakily, Emily unable to determine whether she was asking a question, voicing disapproval or simply stating the obvious.

"Yeah, I'm here," Emily stated somewhat dumbly, suddenly feeling nervous that perhaps Paige had wanted her to leave after all; that maybe Paige wanted or needed to be alone right now. "I wanted to wait for my clothes to dry and I…" _I wanted to wait up for you._ "…I must have fallen asleep. They should be done now."

She kept her eyes fixed on Paige for a moment, the look Paige was giving her unreadable; it was making her uneasy. Paige always made her feel so welcome, her presence so wanted; Emily didn't like the uncertainty washing over her due to Paige's silence. After another moment Emily decided to take the silence as her cue to leave.

Standing up she instantly cursed her decision to wear nothing but one of Paige's skimpier shirts to bed; at the time she thought it would be seductive, Paige had certainly found it inviting the night before; now all she felt was horrifically underdressed. She could feel Paige's eyes watching her, self-consciously tugging at the hem of the shirt to try to cover her underwear as she padded over to Paige's dresser.

"Are you leaving?" Paige asked from behind her, Emily's eyes flitting back to see Paige's face once again pulled into a frown.

"Do you want me to?" Emily asked, desperate for Paige to tell her what she wanted right now; more correctly, what she needed.

"You can stay if you want," Paige shrugged, sitting up slightly in the bed, her eyes still fixed on Emily.

"Do you want me to?" Emily repeated, cursing her inability to just put her foot down and say no. _No,_ _I'm not leaving until I know you're okay and we're okay and that's that. _Once again Paige didn't respond, her eyes instead falling to the comforter, Emily deciding that perhaps leaving would be for the best after all. Somehow the room had become suffocating; the weight of the silence becoming too much for her.

"Wait, don't go." Paige's voice rung out behind her as Emily moved to tug on some sweats, Emily not failing to notice the need laced in Paige's words.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked, finally finding the three simple words she was searching for, though the answer was clearly written on Paige's face. "Is your Dad okay?" Emily watched Paige stiffen at the question, a reaction Emily was coming to associate with any mention of Paige's Father. She suddenly began to worry that something serious had happened; perhaps he was more ill than she thought; maybe his condition had gotten worse throughout the night. She slid back beneath the covers, scooting as close to Paige as possible without actually touching the other girl. Paige wanted her here, that was established, but having never actually seen Paige so withdrawn, she didn't know how exactly she was supposed to comfort her.

"He's okay. I think," Paige shrugged, giving Emily a stiff smile.

"Are you okay?" Emily repeated, hesitating momentarily before taking Paige's hand lightly in her own.

"Not really," Paige sighed, sinking further into the mattress, her free hand coming up to cover their entwined hands.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Emily asked, though she was already fairly certain what the answer was going to be.

"Not really."

Emily knew that was fair enough, it was clear from everything; her voice, her expression, and the telling way she gripped Emily's hand that Paige was exhausted, physically and emotionally; that whatever was troubling her had worn her out.

It was something Emily was coming to learn about Paige; she seemed to be particularly guarded when it came to talking about herself, especially in regards to her family. She had noticed it now and then; at one point she was sure they had even talked about it, back when they would sit outside Rosewood High and pretend they were just friends. She remembered remarking that she found the mystery surrounding Paige intriguing, that perhaps that was why she was so drawn to her. Now she knew with certainty that she would give anything to know what was going on in Paige's mind, but she also knew now wasn't the time for questioning. What Paige appeared to need was comfort.

"What can I do?" Emily asked, Paige's eyes flicking up to meet her own, the look Emily found there almost one of disbelief, much to her confusion. "Come here."

"What?" Paige said sceptically, eyeing Emily almost suspiciously as she rolled onto her back, holding her arm out.

"Come here," Emily repeated. If she couldn't help Paige by listening, she was determined to give her comfort in some way, even if it was just letting her know she was there, without having to actually utter the words out loud. Paige scooted closer hesitantly, before relaxing into Emily's embrace as she laid her head on Emily's chest.

"Em?" Emily felt the arm around her waist tighten a little, Paige letting out a heavy sigh before closing her eyes almost contentedly. "I'm glad you're here."

* * *

Paige felt a smile of her own tugging onto her face, watching intently as Emily talked animatedly about how the local ice-cream parlour couldn't be beaten. She took in the way Emily's cheeks dimpled slightly the more enthusiastic she became and tried her best not to physically combust at the cuteness that was Emily Fields. It was nice, hearing Emily talk about her hometown so enthusiastically. Emily had driven them to Rosewood, the two sitting atop an overlook just above the town, sharing some of, according to Emily anyways, Pennsylvania's finest ice cream.

"It's nice up here." Paige smiled, looking down over the small town as Emily slyly switched their ice cream tubs, Paige shooting her a playful glare as she caught her.

"I like it, it's always so quiet. Peaceful." Emily said in agreement, setting her tub aside as she scooted a closer to Paige, linking their arms together. Summer was drawing to a close, the familiar chill of autumn creeping into the air; Emily thankful for Paige's warmth, Paige thankful for Emily's closeness.

Usually when Paige felt this low, and definitely after a run in with her Father like that, her first instinct would be to go; go anywhere as long as it was away from everything and she could clear her head, stop her emotions from consuming her. Normally she would lack the confidence to believe it, but there was something about today, the way Emily was acting around her, that made her fairly certain Emily understood that need, and bringing her here was Emily's way of telling her she got it. Emily had explained upon arrival that this was one of her favourite spots to go to when she needed to escape; if she couldn't swim to clear her mind, she would sit here, sometimes for hours until she felt like herself again. Paige was thankful that Emily had wanted to share it with her, especially today of all days.

"I never realised how big Rosewood actually is," Paige mused, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled over them as she looked down over the town. "I mean, it's small, but it looks so much bigger from up here."

"It's definitely small," Emily said with a small smile, thinking back to what it was like to grow up in a small town like Rosewood. "Have you been to Rosewood often?"

"Not really. My folks live near here, so I used to go to church here as a kid. I've been a lot more lately, with Caitlin going to school here," Paige shrugged. Her parents house was just on the outskirts of Rosewood, but she had spent a lot more time in the city growing up.

"Where did you go to High School?" Emily asked, a slight hint of cautiousness creeping into her voice. She didn't want to say the wrong thing and accidentally drudge up anything that would upset Paige, especially now that Paige seemed to be relaxing; the tension that had consumed her almost entirely that morning now noticeably ebbing away.

"I went to a private school in the city," Paige answered, reminding herself that opening up a little didn't have to be a bad thing, especially if a relationship with Emily was something she wanted in the long run. "Just outside of Philly. By the time Caitlin was old enough, my Dad…" Paige faltered, quickly gaining her composure before Emily had the chance to worry. "By the time Caitlin was old enough he didn't have the money, he lost his job. So um, that's why she ended up at Rosewood High. It's closer to their house anyway so."

"Did you like it?" Emily asked, unable to stop herself now that she finally knew something about Paige's past. "The school I mean."

"It was okay. It was an all girl school, so you can imagine what that could be like. Sorry to shatter the illusion I'm _sure _you have of me," Paige smirked, Emily happy to see a little bit of Paige's playfulness resurfacing for the first time that day. "But I was a bit of a dork back then, so I was sort of an easy target. Then I met Dawn, who I'm sure you've noticed can scare the bejesus out of anyone, took up field hockey, swimming…ended up becoming a bit of a jock. I was pretty tightly wound back then so the school being so regimented worked out well…" Paige trailed off as she looked at Emily in bemusement; Emily was smiling proudly to herself, her eyes fixed on Paige. "What?"

"Nothing," Emily smiled, squeezing Paige's arm slightly. "I never knew that about you. It's nice."

"If you say so," Paige giggled, having another spoonful of ice-cream.

"Who was your first kiss?" Emily said with a small grin, Paige letting out a small chuckle at Emily's apparent giddiness.

"You're asking a lot of questions today Miss Fields," Paige smiled, watching as Emily shrugged innocently.

"I'm just curious about you, that's all." Emily said nonchalantly, deciding to elaborate. "I feel like most of the time we end up talking about me. My friends, my life. It's nice to hear you talking about yourself for a change."

"Sean Ackard." Paige answered; she watched Emily intently for a moment, waiting to see if a look of realisation was going to grace Emily's face, smirking in amusement as it did. "I know, you don't need to tell me. I mentioned it once when I was living with Caleb, Hanna nearly passed out."

"How do you know Sean?" Emily asked in surprise, recognising the name of Hanna's high school boyfriend instantly. Rosewood really was a small town.

"We met at church," Paige began, shaking her head with a laugh as she thought back to it. "My Dad was a deacon, his Dad is a pastor…he took me out one night, we were like…13? And he was so sweet, but that kiss was awful. My Mom was heartbroken when I didn't want to go out with him anymore."

"Hanna dated him for like 2 years," Emily chuckled, still shaking her head in disbelief.

"Who was yours?" Paige asked, watching Emily's eyebrow raise questioningly. "What?" She said, mocking Emily's voice from earlier. "I'm curious about you, _that's all._"

"Don't laugh okay?" Emily said, Paige turning to give Emily her full attention, her eyebrow raising in curiosity. "Spencer."

"What?" Paige said is surprise. "Spencer as in…Spencer?"

"It's not how you think," Emily began, her cheeks pinking slightly as she readied herself to tell the story. "I had just started dating this guy Ben. But really I had a crush on…"

"Spencer?" Paige asked once again, taking a moment to mull it over before nodding. "I get it. She is kind of…"

"Kind of what?" Emily asked in amusement, her eyebrow quirking playfully as she watched Paige's cheeks flush slightly. "No, not Spencer. I had a crush on our other friend, Alison." Emily said, Paige noticing the slight frown that tugged onto Emily's lips as she spoke the other girls name. "We were playing truth or dare, and when I picked truth everyone found out I had never been kissed. Alison made a big deal out of offering to teach me, she knew I liked her then, even before I did. But I freaked out because…well I really wanted her to kiss me. Everyone was there, and they were looking at me weird, so when Spencer picked dare I dared her to kiss me…and she did."

"Tongue?" Paige said, causing Emily to snort.

"No tongue," Emily said, rolling her eyes at the way Paige raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Well, at least it was with someone special," Paige chuckled, giving Emily's arm a quick squeeze. "Um...First love?" Paige shrugged, deciding to continue their little game of 'getting to know you'.

"Alison," Emily repeated, Paige once again noticing the way Emily spoke her name. The word was heavy; laden with something deeper than just first love. "When other people weren't around, she had this way of…making me feel special. Nothing ever happened, well she kissed me once, but after that…"

"She moved on?" Paige asked, Emily thankful for the interruption. It had been a long time since it had happened, but she couldn't bear the look of sympathy that tended to wash over people when they recognised the name and remembered who Alison was, the name from all the papers, the missing posters, the trial.

"Yeah," Emily smiled, Paige looking at her with a hint of scepticism. "I met another girl not long after Ali left… y'know, a first reciprocated love. We dated for a while, up until college. Anyway, who was yours?"

Paige opened her mouth momentarily, closing it quickly as her face scrunched into a frown. _Nobody came to mind._ "I um…I don't think I really had one."

"What do you mean?" Emily asked, looking at Paige curiously.

"I um…I've never had one?" Paige repeated, her arm coming up to scratch at the back of her neck, Emily noticing the familiar stiffness returning as Paige spoke.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Emily said with a hint of concern, placing her hand on Paige's forearm softly.

"I know. I just know it must be weird…not ever…" Paige began, trying to think of the best way to explain.

"It's not weird," Emily assured her.

"The first time I kissed a girl, I freaked out. We were fighting and um, I just kissed her out of nowhere. She told her parents, they told mine…that didn't go down too well," Paige shrugged, Emily noticing the slight discomfort creeping over Paige, apparent in everything from her expression to her posture. "I tried my best not to get involved with anyone after that, I told my Dad it was a joke. But I got older, realised it wasn't and there was this one girl, and before I knew it we were dating. It caused a lot of trouble. I figured maybe I could fall for her, open up. But, she was also dating this guy from another school…and well that was that. I didn't really date after that, just focused on school and swimming. Then with moving around so much I haven't really managed to date anyone, not seriously anyway, it's always just been very…casual with girls. Not that I'm um…like a commitment-phobe or a…I just…I'm rambling aren't I?"

"I don't mind it," Emily smiled, sliding her hand down Paige's arm until it came to grasp Paige's hand, giving it a quick squeeze. Paige smiled at the contact, she'd been waiting for it all day, fiddling with Emily's fingers in her own as the two settling into a peaceful silence once again, Emily feeling Paige relaxing again beside her.

"I think it's why you scare me so much." Paige continued, glancing down at their entwined hands before fixing her eyes on the view ahead, catching Emily looking at her quizzically as she glanced in the dark-haired girls direction. She felt a frown tugging onto her face, scared that she'd once again said too much, went too far.

"Paige?" Emily asked, Paige simply picking up her ice cream tub and beginning to finish it off; apparently she wasn't going to elaborate, much to Emily's annoyance. Was Paige saying that she scared her because Paige was falling for her? That she was going to be Paige's…Emily felt her stomach flip at the thought. "What do you mean?"

"You're melting."

"What?"

Paige reached over, scooping up some of the ice cream dripping down the side of Emily's tub and licking it from her finger. "This is the best ice cream in Pennsylvania right? Don't waste it."

"Help me out then," Emily smiled, reaching around Paige to grab her discarded spoon, handing it to the other girl and placing the tub between them. Emily felt Paige cautiously wrapping an arm around her waist as they once again settled into silence.

* * *

"What the hell was that movie?" Paige asked with a scoff as they made their way out of the small cinema, glancing behind her to see the creepy attendant still staring at her. He'd done it for most of the movie, Paige shooting him a glare until he was out of sight.

"You didn't like it?" Emily asked, biting her lip anxiously. Once the time had come to leave to overlook, she'd racked her brain for something else to do, something that meant she and Paige didn't have to part ways just yet. The movie theatre had seemed like a good idea at the time. In truth she herself had dozed off in the theatre, the feeling of Paige's fingers softly playing with her hair all the comfort she needed to drift off into a deep sleep.

"It was…interesting," Paige shrugged, not realising Emily had such strange taste in movies. "Astro Zombies? I should've guessed it was going to be…"

"Bizarre," Emily finished, shooting Paige an apologetic shrug. "Sorry, they don't really show regular movies here, I just couldn't really think of anything else to do."

"It was…different, different is always good," Paige smiled, linking their arms together as they made their way down the street. "Now drooling all over my favourite jacket however...that you can apologise for."

"I was not drooling," Emily scoffed, bumping her shoulder into Paige playfully.

"Whatever. You also snore like a trooper," Paige grinned, Emily's eyes widening.

"I do not!" Emily said defensively, unable to keep her look of annoyance up as she felt laughter bubbling up inside her.

"Don't worry, we were the only ones in there anyway," Paige smiled, laughing lightly as Emily's eyes not so subtly scanned Paige's collar for traces of drool.

"I don't snore," Emily said once again, freeing her arm from Paige's grasp until she could link their fingers together.

"Thanks for today Em," Paige said, giving Emily's hand a quick squeeze. Emily nodded her head in understanding; happy that her hunch that morning had been correct, that getting Paige away for the day was helping her get out of her head. "You want to grab some dinner in town? I don't really fancy heading home just yet."

"I was thinking we could get some take out from the Grille," Emily said, pointing across the street to the Apple-Rose Grille.

"Are you sure you don't want to sit in?" Paige asked, the two breaking apart as they crossed the road. "It'll get cold by the time we get it back to my place…or your place; they're both quite a drive."

"I have a better idea actually," Emily said, Paige's eyebrow quirking questioningly as Emily simply smiled and tugged her into the restaurant.

* * *

Paige was unable to keep her eyes off Emily, something about the way she was trying to mask her nervousness as she drove them to their undisclosed location, or maybe it was the excitement she seemed to be trying to hide, making Paige smile. Emily was adorable when she was trying to keep things secret; Paige could tell she was desperate to just get to wherever they were going quickly. They pulled up onto a street, Paige watching out the window as they drove by house after house, Emily eventually pulling onto a driveway and coming to a stop.

"Where are we?" Paige asked, looking up at the house in front of her before looking back to Emily.

"This is my parents house."

"We're having dinner with your parents?" Paige asked in surprise, Emily rolling her eyes in response.

"No. Come on." Emily smiled before exiting the car, climbing up the steps to the front porch as Paige lagged behind her. She waited patiently as Emily rooted around in her bag, Paige's eyes catching sight of an old woman watching them from a window next door. Emily finally got the door open, motioning for Paige to follow her.

"Nice house," Paige said as she stepped inside, her eyes flitting around; the house was smaller than her own had been growing up, but there was a distinct homeliness to it that had always been lacking in her own childhood home. "Is that you?" she asked, walking over to a picture hanging on the wall, a miniature version so obviously Emily smiling back at her. Emily took Paige's hand in her own and tugged Paige back towards her insistently.

"I'll give you a full tour later, come on," Emily smiled, leading her towards what Paige guessed was the dining room. "Wait…" Emily stopped as an idea popped into her head, Paige walking into her as she came to a sudden halt. She grabbed the bag of takeout from Paige, turning them around and leading Paige back towards the living room. "Wait in here, I won't be long."

Paige watched in amusement as Emily skipped off, walking further into the room and looking around, once again noting the warmth; little things here and there giving the place that welcoming touch, something Paige recognised was also prevalent in Emily and Spencer's apartment.

"Ready?" Paige looked up to find Emily's head peaking around the corner, Paige getting up and following her throughout the house, smiling widely as she walked into the dining room.

"Candlelit dinner?" Paige smiled, leaning over and kissing Emily's cheek softly before taking a seat. "Wine? Candles…takeout..."

"I meant it when I said I wanted to make it up to you for cooking all the time," Emily said taking her seat opposite Paige, happy the opportunity had presented itself. "And if I actually cooked I think it would kill you, so this kind of worked out well," Emily smiled motioning to the cartons of takeout.

"Where are your parents by the way?" Paige asked as she began eating, only now realising they were the only ones in the house.

"My Mom's visiting my Dad this week," Emily said, Paige nodding in understanding.

"He's in the army right?" Paige asked, remembering Emily mentioning him often; she had gotten the impression Emily and her Father were very close.

"Yeah," Emily nodded, grabbing the wine bottle and topping up Paige's glass. "He's in Texas right now."

"Do you see him often?" Paige asked; they had talked about Emily's parents briefly, but she didn't know much about them.

"Sometimes once every few weeks, sometimes not for months," Emily smiled sadly, taking a sip from her own glass. "It's better now he's in the states, if anything there's less to worry about. It's harder on my Mom now though. Before I left for college we were here together, but now she's just on her own. She tries to go down there as much as she can."

"This is a really nice house," Paige mused once again, her eyes taking in the table set up, wondering when the last time she'd actually eaten somewhere with place settings had been.

"What was your house like growing up?" Emily asked, frowningly slightly at her wording. She'd been trying to find a subtle way to casually probe a little more about Paige's youth, her family, hoping she hadn't just ruined what was shaping up to be a rather pleasant day by making Paige uncomfortable.

"Um, you saw it once, I gave you a ride home when I picked up Caitlin?" Paige shrugged, Emily thankful that Paige hadn't been too fazed by the question. "It's sort of like this. A little bigger…less…my Dad's more into…minimal stuff. Less photographs and…uh, homely things."

"Paige?" Emily asked, getting Paige's attention, her eyes that were studying the room now meeting Emily's own. "What happened yesterday?…I just really want to…I don't know, understand what happened last night. What made you so upset this morning. If that's too personal..."

"It's okay. But I'm sorry, I just…can't. Not right now." Paige said, picking up her glass and taking a swig. "Can we um, can we maybe go back next door?"

"Sure. We can watch a movie if you like?" Emily asked before she blew out the candle, stilling Paige's hands as she went to clear the table, they could do that later. Instead she took it into her own and lead Paige back into the living room, carefully balancing her glass and the bottle in her hand.

"As long as it doesn't involve lab-created, lucha libre zombies, then yes, that sounds good," Paige smiled, thinking back to the terrible film they had watched earlier that day.

"Do you want anymore?" Emily asked once she'd popped the DVD in, lifting up the bottle of wine, Paige shaking her head softly in response as she took a seat on the couch, Emily mirroring her action and flicking on the TV.

"Seriously?" Paige said, giggling slightly as the opening credits began to roll. "It's only September Emily."

"You don't like It's a Wonderful Life?" Emily said with genuine concern, pushing at Paige's shoulder until she leant back on the couch, resting her head against it and linking their fingers together once again.

"Yeah, at Christmas," Paige smiled, Emily looking up at her with such genuine disappointment Paige couldn't help but find it adorable, leaning down to press a soft kiss to Emily's forehead. "I love this movie. Good choice."

Paige settled down, smiling to herself. It had been a long time since someone had gone to such an effort to make her comfortable; Emily had strived all day to just make her smile, or laugh. She wasn't sure if there was any place she would rather be at that moment than here. Here with Emily resting against her, the room only lit by the glow of the screen, watching christmas movies way before the holiday season; something she'd normally loathe but with Emily just seemed right.

She thought back to what she had considered earlier that day at the overlook; talking to Emily, opening up, didn't have to be a bad thing. She felt safe here, Emily was someone she could trust, and it was clear that on some level, even if it turned out it wasn't in the way she hoped, Emily really cared for her.

"Yesterday was the first time I've spoken to my Dad in about four years, apart from one really awkward accidental phone call." Paige's voice broke the silence, Emily looking up to find Paige's eyes still fixed on the screen, Emily mirroring her actions but squeezing Paige's arm, letting her know she was listening. "And the only thing he said to me, after four years of basically ignoring me, was _you can go now_. Like I was just…a babysitter. It left me pretty cut up. It's a long story, me and my Dad, me and my family, and I'm sorry I can't bring myself to tell it to you right now, but I needed to say thank you. For today, for understanding what it was I needed, even before I did. And thank you for staying last night. I know it was probably accidental…but you have no idea how comforting it was to know that I would wake up this morning and that you'd still be there with me. That I wasn't alone."

Emily looked up at Paige, finding that her eyes were now focused on Emily. Emily gave Paige an understanding nod, shifting until she could pull Paige into her arms, the other girl returning the hug with earnest. She might not have gotten the full story, but Paige had trusted her enough to confide in her at all, and that was good enough for Emily.

"It wasn't accidental."

* * *

Paige stirred out of her slumber just in time to see the credits rolling, Emily shifting beside her to turn off the DVD, her eyes flitting back to Paige and catching her letting out a long yawn. She smiled sheepishly as she rubbed her eyes.

"Are you tired?" Emily asked, Paige giving her a small nod in response. She frowned at the prospect of leaving; being away from home, with Emily no less, wasn't something she was quite ready to give up just yet.

"I can call a cab..."

"Come with me," Emily said standing up, offering out her hand to Paige.

"Where are we going?" Paige asked with a smile, Emily simply lacing their fingers together and tugging her to her feet. She flicked off the TV off as she passed, leading Paige up the stairs through the dark house, kicking her old bedroom door open before leading Paige inside, stopping after closing the door behind her.

"Nice room," Paige said, making her way past Emily and taking a look around, paying close attention to the collections of photo's dotted about the place, easily recognising miniature versions of Hanna, Spencer and Aria alongside Emily, and many other random face's she didn't recognise. "Yours I take it?"

"It hasn't really changed since I was like fifteen," Emily shrugged a little nervously, watching as Paige walked around, studying every last detail. She thought back to how she had felt the night before as she'd stepped into her own old bedroom, how much she couldn't stand to think about the way she was then as she'd entered it. She wondered how Emily felt when she came home, what Emily was like when she was fifteen.

"So," Paige said, Emily smiling as she recognised Paige's cocky grin returning, happy that Paige seemed to be feeling a little more herself. "Did you do this often when you were younger? Sneak girl's into your room while your Mom was away?"

"Um, well…no," Emily said, laughing slightly at the bemused look Paige was giving her. "In High School, Maya's parents were less strict, so we'd mostly be at her place and in college, Ellie had her own place so…none."

"Interesting," Paige said with a smirk, Emily laughing at the expression on Paige's face. She watched as Paige shrugged off her sweater and hung it on the edge of the bed before leaning against it.

"It's lovely," Paige said again, smiling genuinely. "Window seat! No way…" Paige said excitedly, shifting over and plonking down on the floor in front of it. "I always thought they were cool."

"I guess," Emily smiled, happy to see Paige so genuinely happy after the bouts of sadness she had been prone to throughout the day. She stood for a moment, smiling at the contentedness on Paige's face; the way she seemed to study Emily's room with wonder.

"Are you coming over here or what?" Paige asked with a small grin, Emily noticing something else lingering beneath her gaze. She walked towards Paige slowly, taking a seat next to the other girl, barely settling onto the ground before Paige was pulling her in for a soft kiss, smiling into it, followed by another, then another. "I've wanted to kiss you all day."

"Why didn't you?" Emily asked, biting her lower lip nervously when Paige didn't respond, instead opting to pull back and lace their fingers together, softly kissing Emily's cheek.

"I was too busy…thinking I guess," Paige shrugged, resting her head on Emily's shoulder. "Dad and…well, last night..."

"I guess we should talk about that," Emily said with a sigh, Paige looking at her in confusion for a moment before realising what Emily was getting at.

"Ah," Paige said, frowning as she realised what Emily was referring to. "I'm sorry, it just slipped out..."

"You don't have to be sorry," Emily cut Paige off.

"But it is something we should talk about?" Paige asked with a frown, noticing the change in atmosphere. "I've never done this before, had the 'what are we' talk."

"For my last two years of High School I was in a relationship. Then I met Ellie at college orientation, so for the past 4, almost five years, I've been in a relationship. I feel like I've never just been Emily, you know, on my own? I'm always their version of me."

"I understand," Paige nodded, though she felt like she was the exact opposite; she'd always been on her own. "Look we said when we started this that if you changed your mind there would be no hard feelings. I still mean that. If you need to be…on your own, If it's what you need, I can deal."

Emily nodded, though she couldn't decide if it was in agreement or just for lack of words. Was that why she'd been so bothered by Hanna calling Paige her girlfriend? She'd changed her mind? She wanted to be alone? She couldn't find an ounce of certainty within her as she looked to Paige, the sadness clear on her face even though she'd so calmly offered to call it quits. Emily's brow furrowed as she looked up, something occurring to her. "Why did you sit on the floor?"

"Uh…I really don't know. It looks so comfy up there," Paige smiled, her mind not really focused on the question, or on where they were sitting. All she knew was that Emily was beside her, lit only by the moonlight, or maybe it was the street light; none of it mattered, because what she knew with certainty was that Emily had never looked more beautiful to her, and the fear that Emily was agreeing with her, the fear that Emily wanted to end things just as they were beginning suddenly felt like an anvil in her chest. Emily's eyes met hers, Paige's gaze instinctively flitting to the floor; she was afraid of what she would find in Emily's eyes should she bring her own to meet them.

"I've been thinking about it since last night. Whether I want to be getting into another relationship right now. Whether I'm really ready." Emily said, Paige's eyes still fixed to the floor. A part of her felt awful for talking like it was something she was still considering; for all she was just being honest, her relationship with Paige was already set in motion, and she knew Paige's feelings were developing as rapidly as her own. Her main fear when they'd first agreed to give them a try was that she would hurt Paige with her uncertainties; the knowledge that it was an real possibility made her heart twist. "Paige I…"

"Don't tell me." Emily looked up at Paige in confusion, finding the slightest hint of pleading coupled with affection in Paige's eyes. "I've loved today. And I don't think I could take it if it ended with you telling me you wanted us to be over. I promise, tomorrow we can be serious and grown up; I'll listen to whatever you have to say, and respect whatever it is you decide. But please, can we just have tonight? Just for us?"

Paige's hand came up to gently cup Emily's cheek, stroking the skin there gently as she leant in ever so slightly; as if asking permission to continue. Emily closed the distance slowly, placing a series of long, slow kisses to Paige's lips before standing and offering out her hand for Paige to take, pulling the other girl to her feet. Paige's lips met hers again the instant they were on their feet, kissing her so slowly and with so much want Emily felt her knees weaken.

It wasn't long until the kiss intensified; Emily could feel the want consuming the kiss, unable to distinguish what was Paige's and what was hers. Her hands impatiently began pushing Paige's shirt up, the slightest of whimpers escaping Paige's lips as the cold air hit her exposed skin.

"Take it off," Paige mumbled against her lips, clearly reluctant to part for too long. Emily complied instantly, lifting the material up and off without their lips having to part for longer than mere seconds, Paige's hands beginning to tug impatiently at the hem of her own shirt. They pulled back panting, Emily's eyes flitting to the bed.

Emily felt Paige's fingers brushing against her wrist softly, motioning for her to follow as Paige made her way over to the bed, taking a seat on the edge of it. Emily made her way over to stand before Paige; the look in the other girls eyes a mixture of nerves and lust. Emily moved forward to kiss her, only to frown as she felt Paige's hand on her chest, stopping her movement.

"You're wearing too many clothes."

Emily's eyes flitted up to Paige, her own nerves creeping over her as she took in the look on the other girls face and understood what Paige was asking her to do. Paige's hands moved to undo the button of Emily's jeans, her eyes still glued to Emily's as she lowered the zipper before scooting back up the bed, resting on her elbows as her eyes fixed on Emily once again. Emily stood back up, her gaze dropping slightly at the way Paige was staring at her; the gaze so intense it was almost unsettling; the most invigorating kind of unsettled Emily had ever felt. Paige swiftly tugged off her own jeans as she waited, throwing them off the side of the bed and once again resting on her elbows, looking up at Emily expectantly.

Emily lifted her shirt up and off, flushing slightly as it got stuck halfway, eventually letting it fall to the floor. She continued, quickly shrugging out of her jeans, flushing once again slightly at her own haste. She wondered if perhaps she should be going slower; attempting some sort of seductive strip tease for Paige's enjoyment. The way Paige's eyes trailed over her body with the more clothing she shed gave her confidence enough that Paige didn't care; the way Paige's breath caught as she reached for the clasp of her bra let her know she was doing something right.

"Wait," Paige said, Emily stilling her movements as Paige called out. "Come here."

Emily complied, making her way to the bed and allowing Paige to pull her into her lap, Emily's skin tingling as she felt their bare legs tangling together for the first time. Paige began placing soft kisses along Emily's collarbone, her hands sliding up to undo the clasp of Emily's bra; Emily could hear Paige swallowing hard as she tugged the straps down.

Paige let out a shaky breath, her eyes taking in every inch of Emily as she cast the material aside.

"You are so beautiful," Paige almost sighed, kissing a trail up Emily's neck, leading the way to Emily's lips. The soft sigh Paige released as she finally kissed Emily caused Emily to pull back and look down at Paige, thinking about just how lucky she was to be in that position right now, her back arching as Paige's mouth began exploring her chest, her lips tentatively brushing over a nipple.

Emily's hands sought out the clasp of Paige's own bra, desperately wanting to feel Paige's skin against her own, her movements faltering as Paige began flicking her tongue back and forth over her nipple, her hand coming up to roll the opposite one between her fingers; the sensation causing Emily's mind to fog over. She found herself impatiently tugging at the straps once she'd managed to loosen Paige's bra, Paige smirking against her chest before rolling them over, tossing the garment to the side.

Emily leant up to capture Paige's lips softly, missing the contact, her arms wrapping around Paige's shoulders to pull the girl down onto her, almost sighing in relief as she felt their skin coming into contact finally. The weight and feel of Paige above her, the feel of Paige's breasts against her own, was something she hadn't realised she'd been craving until that moment.

"Paige…" Emily gasped, feeling wet lips against her neck, Paige's thigh falling between her legs, the pressure causing Emily to let out a breathy moan. They began rocking together as Paige's teeth scraped against the skin of her throat, Emily pulling Paige back up to her to crash their lips together heatedly.

Paige pulled back, placing a series of firm yet almost chaste kisses to Emily's lips before reaching down, breathing shakily as she slowly began tugging off her own underwear, quickly followed by Emily's. Paige groaned as she lowered herself back down, Emily releasing a loud moan at the sensation of their naked bodies coming in to contact fully.

"Okay?" Paige asked, her lips returning to Emily's briefly before gently cupping her cheek. Emily didn't think she'd ever get over the way Paige was always looking at her; always full of so much affection and concern; never-failing to make her feel wanted, the feeling seemingly quadrupled now they were in their current position. Emily nodded in response, Paige leaning down slowly to capture her lips once again.

"I want to be with you."

The words cut Paige off before their lips managed to touch, Emily's eyes meeting hers with such sincerity Paige felt her breath hitch.

"What?"

Emily's response was a kiss; a kiss so full of everything that both excited and terrified her in equal measure. It wasn't long until Paige's hands were roaming her body, the slight surprise wearing off as she began kissing Emily back with matching vigour.

"I want to be with you," Emily repeated as they broke apart, making sure Paige's gaze was locked with her own, hoping Paige could see the sincerity her eyes. "Ready or not, It doesn't change how much I want you, how you make me feel."

"Do you mean it?" Paige asked in surprise, pulling back so that she could see Emily fully. "It's not just because we're almost naked and getting all, well, hot and bothered…"

"I mean it." Emily smiled, leaning up to kiss Paige softly. She felt Paige grinning into the kiss, pulling back just as the heat began to consume them once again. "I'm yours, if you'll have me."

"Emily," Paige smiled, placing the softest of kisses to Emily's lips. "I'm _already_ yours."


End file.
